Farewell Sunshine
by dizi
Summary: A crime against a young teen has ocurred, against a mutant girl. Follow the detective as she has to fight just to investigate the crime. Rating for language and underlying content. Wolverine, Jubilee, White Queen, Cannonball. Don't forget to REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to recieve absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

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pre-note: There will be many original characters in this story that may seem familiar. Most have had bit parts in other stories and didn't even get a name, or not much more than a name. I took this story as an opportunity to flesh out some of these bit characters a little more. Some of you may be aware that I've done this sort of "recycling" before; in fact, I do it with almost every story. Guess what I'm getting at is the same warning I've been giving a lot lately: though some of the original characters in this story may be familiar and be in familiar situations, this story is not to be considered a sequel to any of my others.

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**Farewell Sunshine  
**by Dizi

Chapter 1

The girl on the bed is probably the most beautiful sixteen-year-old I have ever seen. Professionally, I mean. The bandage around her head doesn't detract, though it might if I had ever seen her without it. Even better would have been to have seen her walking down the street, laughing and chatting with other kids her age, maybe wearing clothes more suitable for a much older person and too much make-up - but what do I know, I don't wear make-up - being like other girls.

However, I know she would never be like other girls. Not before what had happened to her and never again. Since she's entirely yellow from head to toe, she is an obvious mutant and would never be treated as a normal girl. Someday that might be different, but not now, not yet.

My job is to treat her like any other though. As a member of the Salem Center Police Department, Violent Crimes, I have to treat her as any other victim. It's not that hard for me. I'm a rebel, you see. I don't care if a vic is white, brown, or black. Even worse, I don't care if they're blue, green, or yellow.

The doctor on the other side of the bed has been droning on. It may not appear I've been listening, but I have. All the information is just going to another part of my brain and will be available when I need it. No, I'm not a mutant. It's a learned skill. I don't really understand all the medical mumbo-jumbo, but it's there anyway.

He's become quiet now. I know him from other cases so I understand he's about to change lanes and give an opinion instead of more of the dry medical information. He does it that way to divorce himself from the patient. As a trauma doctor, Phillip Goski tries to keep his personal feelings out of the hospital. It's too hard for him to sleep at night otherwise.

"She might live, her surface injuries might heal, but she'll ever wake up." His eyes meet mine and I can see the anger in them. "If I had been called sooner, there might have been a chance, with head injuries every second counts. But they left her lying on a bed in a far off corner of the emergency room and ignored her. I don't know if they were scared or just didn't want to help her because she's a mutant."

"That would be criminal negligence," I tell him quietly. "Give me some names and I'll at least be able to scare them so they won't do it ever again."

"I don't know who it really was. Everyone acted shocked." Sighing, Phil shakes his head. "It would be the end of my career if I did know and told you. No one will care that I treated a mutant, but getting someone else's license in jeopardy would be unforgivable."

I nod because I know exactly what he means. Being a mutant 'sympathizer' is now politically correct but getting those in trouble who aren't isn't. "Well, let me know if you ever find out and they'll end up with their cars being a bull's eye for the traffic cops."

His mouth quirks in humor but he doesn't manage a smile. It's not really funny.

Time to get back to business. "So tell me what you can about our yellow girl here, this time in plain English."

"The paramedics were called about a drowning victim in the park. She wasn't breathing and they did CPR to bring her back. It's unknown how long she might have been oxygen deprived, but she's a fighter or she'd be dead now. Since she was naked as the day she was born, I did a vaginal examination and she was definitely raped. I have to assume the water or the clean-up in Emergency took any evidence there might have been, sorry." He sighed again, and I know it's because it will make my job harder. Phil's got a soft spot for pretty girls, and I've already said she's beautiful. "The head injury is older and it's my opinion it happened before she got into the water, maybe before she was raped. Considering that she'll either be dead or a vegetable for whatever time she has, it might have been kinder if her attacker had killed her."

I don't answer that, I don't need to. The words sound cruel but they're not meant that way. It's no life to lay in a hospital bed 'sleeping' forever. "Do you know what park she was found at?"

"Yeah, it was Jenkins National." Picking up his clipboard, Dr. Goski spares a last look for the still form on the bed. "I have other patients. I'll write up a report and fax it to your department."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I'll call if I need more information and please let me know if there's any change in her condition." From the corner of my eye, I see him nod as he walks out the door.

There'd been no need to tell him to call me, he would have anyway. My attention isn't on him though, I'm looking at the girl. She's already more than a case to me, which isn't out of the ordinary. They're never cases, they're people. This girl had something happen to her that shouldn't have. It was wrong, flat out wrong. Normal human or mutant, vegetable or traumatized, this girl's life was changed and would never be the same. No one had the right to do that to another, and is the exact reason I became a cop. Right now, this moment, she embodies everything that offends me because she is a victim and what I hate most are perps that think they have the right to do whatever they want to someone else. There's nothing I like better than finding those perps and showing them they're wrong.

"Sanchez, we're going to that mutant school, aren't we?"

That's my partner, Frickman, Bob. He's a little slow. Where else does he think we're going to start looking but at a school which specializes in teaching mutants when the vic is bright yellow all over? Especially when the river running through Jenkins National connects directly to the lake on the grounds? "Yeah, we're going to Xavier's."

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When we arrive the place is quiet. Maybe because it's a school day, this is a school, and all the kids are in class. Where the victim should be.

Her being a mutant doesn't bother me, just like being at the school doesn't bother me. Having a young girl approximately sixteen years of age raped and her head bashed in _does_. There being no missing persons report on her does. I called in and checked, and there's definitely not one.

Dr. Goski, during that time I was only paying half attention, said she was healthy and well groomed - from what he could tell after her being in the river for hours. This, along with the already mentioned detail about where she was found, tells me she's not homeless. The majority of rapes are from someone who knows the victim. She's not from the homeless shelter - there's only one that accepts mutants here - so she's from Xavier's School for the Gifted. Most likely her attacker is too. Knowing this doesn't make my job easier.

It suddenly occurs to me to wonder if the girl has any powers. Did she like what she was or hate being different? Did she just look different or was there more to her? Was she one of those which people are afraid will become another Magneto? Or was she as vulnerable as any one else on the street? Most people think all mutants have powers, but I know better. These questions were going on my list. It was getting longer by the second.

An Asian woman with blue eyes led us into a waiting room outside the administrative offices. I knew her. Well, not really, but I knew who she was. She and her husband hang out in the same bars I do. Small world. Not.

"She's a real looker," Frickman comments in admiration.

Not being able to help it, I roll my eyes. We're on an investigation and he's thinking with his dick like usual. How'd I get stuck with him as a partner?

Oh yeah, I remember. My last partner really was a dick. A bigoted, chauvinistic bastard, who hadn't been thrilled with having a woman for a partner. He didn't like that I had an IQ bigger than his penis size - which I personally believe was about two inches - and liked it even less when he made a pass and I turned him down without thinking about it. Over and over again. Things went further downhill when two months later I'd had enough and went to my captain complaining about sexual harassment. To get back at me, Peterman had told everyone who would listen that I was a man-hating dyke before he transferred to homicide. Which no one really believed, but left Frickman as the only one willing to work with me. That's how.

Lucky me. I'm stuck with the immature boob. He's only made a comment about my sex life once and learned quickly never to do it again. Other people's is something else.

The man himself, Charles Xavier, rolled in a few minutes later with a blond woman dressed all in white at his side. Everyone had heard about Emma Frost. On the surface, we seem to be a lot alike, both of us being ball-busters - she just moves in higher circles than I do. Thinking about it, I guess that's all we have in common because I understand from a close personal friend that she's a snob. Not to mention, she has more money than I can ever dream of.

"Officers," Xavier greeted us politely. "How can we help you?"

"Yes," Frost said with a little sniff. "What crime has been committed this time that the police want to lay at our door?"

Damn, I'd been inclined to like her until then. Too bad. I won't let my personal feelings influence me during the investigation though. Much. "It's Detectives, actually. Sanchez and Frickman. And that would depend, you missing anyone?"

Frowning, Xavier didn't answer. I was about to repeat my question less politely, but I guess he was only thinking because he finally said, "Not that I'm aware of. Emma?"

She hesitated, not wanting to say anything I could tell. Couldn't blame her too much though, and I might have been a little quick to take offense. Some cops do try to 'take the easy road' and blame every case they get on the school. Mutants are a good scapegoat. How was she to know I'm not like that? When I was a beat cop, just about all the vics blamed the mutants too. So I'll give her another chance and just call her initial comment Strike One.

"Marian Jessup missed class this morning. But I can't possibly believe she's done anything illegal." She raised one eyebrow in challenge, daring me to say she was wrong.

I was impressed, not many women can do the eyebrow thing well.

"Can you give us a description of Miss Jessup?" Frickman was practically drooling at Frost's abnormally large cleavage showing from her deep neckline so low as to almost be cited for indecent exposure. But he'd asked the right question, so he was improving. Slowly.

"In a word, yellow." Frost shrugged. "She's not hard to miss."

"Sunshine," Xavier said softly.

The nickname was perfect for the girl. 'Sunshine' was how I would think of her from now on, but 'Marian Jessup' would have to be the name I would put on the official reports. My captain frowned on being too familiar with the victims. What can I say? I'm a naughty girl myself. I'll probably burn out within a couple more years but I can't see myself not caring about the victims on a personal level.

"Then I have to inform you, Marian Jessup is currently at St. Joe's Hospital. She hasn't committed a crime, she's a victim. Can you tell us how long she's been missing?"

"What did those hicks in town do to her?" Frost demanded, getting in my face. Strike Two.

"We're investigating and don't yet know who the perpetrator is at this time." My voice was calm with enough force to let her know I wasn't intimidated and wouldn't give an inch. "Again, can you tell me how long she's been missing?"

"What's happened to her?" she snarled, ignoring my question.

"Ma'am, we can't give you that information. If you'll tell us how to contact her parents we would be happy to inform them. Then if they want to share with you, they can. In the meantime, how long has she been missing?" I was saying the right words but I wasn't being friendly anymore. I didn't need to make friends, Sunshine needed me to find her attacker.

"The school is her guardian, since her mutant-phobic parents sent her here and washed their hands of her. That means I am the person you need to talk to. Now."

Okay, I won't count that as Strike Three just because she has a right to know. But it was a close decision. "Marian Jessup was raped, assaulted, and dumped in the river. She was found four hours ago at Jenkins National Park. Her doctor is calling her condition a vegetative coma, but isn't sure if it's because she was oxygen deprived from drowning or due to her head being bludgeoned. Detective Frickman and myself are investigating the crime and intend to find the perp whoever they might be. Can you please tell us how long she's been missing so we can attempt to pinpoint the time of her attack?"

Maybe I was a trifle blunt. The woman took several steps back and grabbed hold of a chair, as though to stay steady on her feet. Some mean part of me was sure the last part was an act, but I didn't let it show as she responded, "I don't know. It was reported to me that she hadn't shown up for class only half an hour ago."

So I could forgive the lack of a missing persons report. She hadn't had time to file one. "Does she have a roommate?"

"No, Sunshine is a good student and has been here a couple years now. She's earned the privilege of having a private room," Xavier answered, his voice shaking a little. "The school will take full financial responsibility for her hospitalization and future care. I'll need the name of her physician and any other pertinent information."

It didn't get past my notice that he didn't say anything about wanting to see her. Sunshine may have been a good student, but I was getting the impression that was all she was to them. Horror at a violent crime didn't count, if they had cared about her he wouldn't have immediately brought up finances. It was something to think about. "His name is Dr. Phillip Goski. Frickman can give you his number while I look at her room, if someone will show me the way."

"Emma." Xavier said her name as an order. Straightening, she led the way to an office, Frickman following the ice queen like the horny dog he was. Not until the door shut, leaving us alone, did Xavier speak again. "You must forgive Emma's behavior. She's in charge of the girls and takes her position seriously. It seems the only time we see the police is when they come here blaming a crime on our students."

Yeah, she took her position 'seriously', but I bet she didn't see her students as people. They were just part of the responsibilities of her job. I got that already. "I understand and I can only promise you that I am very serious about this case. Shall we go to Sunshine's room now?"

He didn't blink, didn't make a move. "Is that really necessary? I don't want my school disrupted."

"Professor Xavier, it's very possible her bedroom is a crime scene but I don't know that yet. No matter what, there will be some 'disruption'." He had just been told a heinous crime had been committed against a young teen under his school's guardianship and he was worried about interrupting class? Too damn bad. "We'll need to talk to everyone here who ever had contact with her. Friends, enemies, teachers, students who passed her in the hall, everyone. We'll need to have a forensics team go over her room with a fine tooth comb. But first I would like to take a look at the potential crime scene."

"You think the person who did this is someone in my school." It was a dry statement and he still didn't look like he was going to do as I asked.

"Would you like me to quote statistics?" I was pretty sure he didn't, nobody ever did. "Crimes like this are frequently committed by someone who knows the victim. Marian Jessup may have gone to town on occasion but none of the students here stays there long. I'm sure you have good security and would know if anyone from town were to come calling."

"We keep a log of all visitors, no matter how casual," he confirmed stiffly.

"I'll want to see that and check on any recent visitors. Regardless, she's from here and here is where we need to start." How much clearer than that could I get? I let it be known I conceded the perp could be from outside the premises but I have to consider all.

"I find the implication one of my students or a member of my faculty did this to be extremely insulting." Xavier did sound indignant.

"I can live with that. Personally, I find the fact that Marian Jessup is lying in a hospital bed and will be for however long or short the rest of her life might be, to be insulting both to me and everyone else. I intend to find out who did it and put them away for a very long time. What I'm asking for is your help. Starting with viewing her room." Now, I was angry and I'm sure I sounded like it. Where was his indignation about what had happened to Sunshine? Was I the only one thinking about her?

"Detective Sanchez, under the circumstances, I'll have to insist on a search warrant. For the logbook as well." As he spoke, Frost and Frickman came out of the office and the outer door opened to the Asian woman again. I realized he'd been stalling long enough for Frost to pump my partner dry, figuratively. He'd gotten all the info he wanted and I was left with nothing. "Mrs. Logan will show you the way out, Detectives. I wish you a good day."

It wouldn't have surprised me if steam had come out my ears, I was so mad. But I didn't have a choice. Stomping my feet the whole way, I left.

The woman kept looking at me as though she wanted to say something but didn't. Before she closed the door behind me, I turned to her, "Tell your husband he owes me fifty bucks. The name's Sanchez and he'll find me at Harry's tonight."

I let Frickman drive because I didn't trust myself behind the wheel. He was smart enough to keep quiet until we were out of the drive, then he had the stupidity to ask, "So we go back to the station and contact the A.D.A.?"

Closing my eyes, I silently counted to ten to keep from hurting him. "Yes, Frickman, we do. He wants a warrant, then a warrant he will get."

to be continued.

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note: Obviously this story isn't going to be fun and games, huh? Due to the serious undertone and some language, I'm giving it a teen rating but if I get enough feedback disagreeing with that then I'll raise the rating. I'm considering it a little borderline and will accept input as to which side of the line it should be on. 

Several AU aspects going on here, a little merging of some of my own storylines. It's set after "The Journey Home" but not crossed with "What Might Have Been". Other things you'll see on your own as the story unfolds. As usual I've put my own twist to some aspects of Marvel characters as I felt the story needed, nothing extreme but you've already gotten a taste of it with Charles Xavier.

Alright, almost done just a couple more things. First, don't expect last minute miracles. That's all I'm saying about it. Second, I'll start pointing out where some original characters... well, originated. However I'll do it a chapter or so away to give you the opportunity to figure it out yourself. (Extra points for whoever can pinpoint Sunshine!) Honestly, even I am not entirely sure who all has been used in the past and who hasn't, so it's possible you will recognize some where I have forgotten.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Next chapter is next week.

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	2. Chapter 2

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to recieve absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

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**Farewell Sunshine  
**by Dizi

Chapter 2

My day wasn't going well. It was no consolation whatsoever that Sunshine's was worse and would never get better. Yet it was the spur that drove me.

The first thing we heard upon entering the station was grumbled warnings from fellow detectives that Captain DeCarlo was on the phone with the Mayor. So his day wasn't going well either. It was never good to get a call from the Chief of Police or the Mayor. Usually, it meant someone had done something wrong. If not wrong, then not completely right. Either way was bad for us all.

I was wondering who was in trouble, never once thinking it might be me. Yeah, I admit to going my own way, but I hadn't done anything worth a call from the Mayor. Or so I thought.

The phone was to my ear and I was pressing the buttons to request my warrant, when I heard the Captain call out, "Sanchez! Frickman! In my office!"

After being given a rousing lecture on the right and wrong way to treat fine upstanding citizens of our town, I was informed to not bother asking for a warrant. I was further informed there would be no more contact with the Xavier school without clear evidence it was complicit in the case. From the Mayor to my Captain to me, my case was dead in the water. There would be no logbook, no interviews, no searching for any evidence because Xavier's was my only lead. I shouldn't have been suprised. I was, but I really shouldn't have been.

Xavier and Frost had made me angry before but this brought it to a new level. They must have been on the phone with the Mayor before we left the building. If things had been the other way around with any bum on the street accusing the mutants of even jaywalking, the two of them would have been ignored. Instead it was a mutant girl needing justice and everyone just seemed to love the "Mutants take care of their own" philosophy. Unless they were the bad guys, then we were right there.

There was also the "money talks louder than words" thing. I would bet a year's pay the Mayor had recieved a donation to his re-election campaign fund for a larger amount than that to get me out of Xavier's hair. Like he even has any hair. Why would I possibly think such a thing of my duly elected Mayor? Easy, any other time Xavier and Frost would be called muties who had more than they should instead of 'fine upstanding citizens'. My captain never even talks like that.

"So that's it? We're done?" Frickman asks me when we're back at our desks.

"What do you think?" The stupid dipshit thinks I'm giving up? Well, maybe not so stupid but still a dipshit.

"I think I'll work on the Streissler case and leave you alone for awhile." See? Not so stupid anymore, I've taught him well. Frickman was a lot worse before I got my hands on him.

But he has a point. What could we do? They'd tied my hands. Or so _they _thought.

First, I could contact the court house and verify through records Frost was telling the truth about being Sunshine's guardian. She was.

Second, I could go to an arcade I know of where the 'mutie students' are welcome to spend their money and question them there, casually. But I don't like that one and decide to skip it for now. The way my day has gone, they would tell a teacher, who would tell Xavier, who would call the Mayor, who would call my captain, and I wouldn't have that avenue any more.

My third option was to talk directly to a 'teacher' away from the campus. It was already in motion by way of Mrs. Logan to a certain Mr. James Logan. Actually his name's just Logan and he got papers from somewhere adding the 'James' part when he decided to get married, but as a cop I don't know about that. However, as a woman who frequents Harry's Bar, I know that and a whole lot more. I've known the Wolverine for years. We were a little close some time ago, but it was a passing thing and now we're friends. I even bought him a beer to celebrate his wedding. Not sure if his wife knows just how close we once were, but neither of us is the kind to kiss and tell, and I'm happy he's happy. Besides which, even if I don't know her that well, I like Jubilation Logan.

But option three won't happen until after my shift is over and it's barely midmorning now. In the meantime I have other cases to work on. What? You think we only get one at a time? I wish. Really, I do. If only the world were that good a place and it was that easy.

Most of what I have are either almost done or domestic problems. Don't get me wrong, they are as important to me as Sunshine, but they're essentially done or I've gone as far as the victim will let me. On one the wife decided at the last minute to drop the charges against her husband, another woman is in a protected women's shelter scared stiff and starting her wait for trial, and the others I just have to type up the reports. Done or as far as I can go, except for the paperwork.

However, they are time consuming mindless tasks to finish and I need to zone out to get my temper under control. Despite what I said about how I should treat her, Sunshine is different from most of my cases. She's a victim who can't speak for herself and demand we do the right thing for her. I have to do it for her and I intend to.

Before I know it, it's time to leave and 'get my money' from Logan. As though the day didn't drag by and I wasn't watching for the clock to strike five. Off I go home to shower, change clothes, and brush my long midnight hair for ten minutes to relax, which doesn't help much but is habit. Then I'm off and running again, this time to Harry's.

Strolling in, I wave to Jenny Wagner and sit at the bar to wait. Logan's not here yet and that would be because I'm earlier than he would expect. Most nights I'd be working late on a case. How would he know I need him for the case I'm working on? Sunshine's case.

Maybe it's my 'hot Latino blood' but just thinking her name brings back some of my anger. So much so that I down the beer Harry had sat in front of me too fast. Not too fast to handle, just too fast to keep drinking for long or Jenny and Harry will cut me off. The cop in me appreciates they would but the bitch in me doesn't. If push comes to shove, Logan will make sure I get home alright; however, if I get drunk I might forget to ask him all that I need to. I can't allow that to happen. Sunshine needs me.

Hell, even in my own mind I'm sounding obsessed! Probably it's because since I first saw her Phil Goski and I are the only ones who give a damn about Sunshine at all. That _can't _be right. I had needed those interviews to tell me otherwise and they were denied to me. Someone has to care for the victim. Right now, I'm it.

While I'm reconciling my feelings, I wasn't paying attention and Logan startles me by slapping a fifty dollar bill on the bar as he sits beside me. "Just ta make it look right. Ever'body knows I always pay up an' don't owe nobody, especially a pretty lady cop. Wanna tell me what's goin' on?"

That's Logan, straight to the point. Rather than explain yet, I counter with a question of my own. "You notice anything out of the ordinary up at the school lately?"

"Hell, it's a school fer mutants, describe 'ordinary'." He apparently doesn't like my question though because he goes on to say, "Don't tell me you've joined the bandwagon blamin' ever'thing on us, that'd really disappoint me, Essie."

"Shhhhh! Keep your voice down saying that!" Looking around I make sure no one was close enough to have heard him calling me anything but 'Sanchez'. As a woman police officer, I try real hard to hide my femininity while working. I'm also a little embarrassed by my full name and he knows that. It's just his way of needling me because I irritated him. How does he know when no one else does? Well, I said we'd been close and only people allowed certain sexual privileges get close enough to learn it. "And you _know _I wouldn't do that."

"Just wanted ta be sure 'cause I know yer under pressure ta join up an' thats the first thing the other kind asks." Nonchallantly, he grabs the beer Harry just put in front of him along with a whiskey chaser, and I know he's laughing at me. Logan would have known if anyone was close enough to hear him. "But I ain't seen nothin'. Why?"

"Because you've been missing a student since between sometime late in the night to early morning at best guess." Oh yeah, that got his attention.

Setting his beer down carefully, his eyes narrow. "Who?"

It's not really a secret and I want answers, so I say, "Marian Jessup, Sunshine."

"Goddamn," he says so quietly I barely hear him. Logan doesn't need to know what's happened to her to know it's bad, the tone I used was enough. Then like he can't help himself, he says louder, "Damn."

There was a comforting reaction. Logan's as upset as I had expected Xavier to have been. I feel better about my impulsive decision to arrange the meet with him. Yeah, it became necessary later, but originally it had been impulse. Now I'll get some of what I need. "You know her?"

"Not too much, just saw her in passin'. I work with the more advanced groups an' she don't got no powers an' she ain't a fighter." He downs the whiskey and signals Harry for another round. "Jubes though, she knows her some, likes her. Knew my wife was tore up 'bout somethin' but all she'd say was the cops had been round an' I needed to get here an' talk ta one of 'em."

"Oh, I was there alright. Got zip from Xavier and Frost, but I was there." Bitter much? Me? Nah! But here was some of the information I needed given freely. What a change for the better.

His expression blank, no one but me would know he took in what I said. Like me he compartmentalizes what goes on around him and he hears EVERYTHING. "Can ya tell me what happened ta her?"

Why can't I have a partner as smart as him? Logan isn't asking what happened or demanding answers, he's asking _if _I could tell him. He wants to know or wouldn't have asked, but he doesn't assume I'll do it. Because it's Logan and I already told Frost and Xavier, who I wish I hadn't so forthcoming with, I do. "After being raped and having her head smashed in, Sunshine was thrown in the river. She was found at Jenkins National Park. Dr. Goski's calling her condition a vegetative coma and I get the impression he expects her to die at any time."

Now he knows as much as I do. Unlike Frickman, I don't have to explain what that means. Logan understands everything I say right away. He doesn't have to be told the perp is most likely at the school and he heard me say I didn't get any cooperation. Because of all this, he makes his next words a statement instead of a question. "Ya told 'em ya suspect it's one o' ours."

"Not exactly. I made it clear it's possible and let it be known I wanted to look into any visitors, and they understood I wanted to question her acquaintances. It's normal and has nothing to do with mutants, that's the way to investigate a crime like this. You know that, Logan." Because I can hear the frustration in my own voice, I take a drink of my beer. It's been sitting there since before he arrived so is warm, but I don't care.

"It woulda put their backs up anyhow. They'll wanna handle it themselves. Didn't even talk ta me, so they're keepin' it real close." Logan shakes his head. "Chuckles an' Frosty don't know shit about stuff like this, what're they thinkin'?"

"You said it, they want to take care of it by themselves. So far they're going to because it doesn't matter if I'm on the case or not when they've talked to the Mayor and fixed it so I can't investigate squat." There's that bitterness again. Gotta work on that. "There's more."

"Shit, Sanchez, how much worse can it get? Got us a violent rapist in our midst an' it gets worse?" He's saying what I was thinking the whole time I was talking to Xavier.

"Sunshine's in a bad way, Logan." Xavier should know this by now. With the way he and Frost acted, I'm not sure he really cared. But there's things he might not have taken into account and Logan will completely understand. "Her doctor's sure she won't last long. If or when Sunshine dies, it won't be my case in any more, it'll go to Homicide. There's a good chance Peterman or someone just like him will get it then. They'll get the search warrant they want but there won't be anything for them to find."

"An' the school'll get torn apart while they're lookin' any way." His lip curls as he's heard all about Peterman. Logan was a good listener during that time.

"Do you really think they'll be too worried about a dead mutant girl? Once they get inside they'll look for absolutely anything to bring the place down." I've said some of the major ramifications but not the one I was concerned about. Meeting his eyes, I finish with, "And Sunshine's attacker won't get caught. He'll slide by and there will be no justice for anyone. Worse he'll be free to do it again."

Neither of us like the idea. I'll be honest and say I know of more than a couple cases which officially are unsolved but not really. Logan took care of them. Jenny Wagner was once Jenny Green and the men who committed the atrocities on her are still being looked for but will never be found. A child molester I was investigating but couldn't get any evidence on disappeared and I'm sure he won't be found in one piece, if at all. Logan takes things into his own hands. The cop in me doesn't know about any of these incidents, of course. The woman in me is grateful. Hell, so is the cop but that part can't say so.

"Jubes ain't the only one who liked the kid. I'll get a bunch of 'em together an' we'll talk ta Chuck, Frost won't listen. With a little time..."

He trails off and I feel the need to remind him, "We don't know how much time we have."

"Then I best get started tonight." Downing his drink quickly, Logan stood to leave. "Ya should expect ta hear somethin' tomorraw."

Considering the look on his face, I have no doubt he'll get some results. It's enough to almost make me feel sorry for Xavier. Almost, not quite.

to be continued.

* * *

note: No guesses yet as to where Sunshine and Sanchez are from? I'll give you a hint: they're in the same story. 

I've noticed some concerns as to Charles motivation for his actions. I'll just say that it will be explained as the story progresses. You do want to remember he's being seen from Sanchez's point of view and may act differently with the mansion's residents than he would with her.

I would also like to thank everyone for the positive response to Sanchez. I like her a whole lot and am glad you like her too.

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	3. Chapter 3

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine  
**by Dizi

Chapter 3

With the hope I'd been given the night before, there was a spring in my step as I started the new day.

The first order of business was to check on Sunshine at the hospital. Though I was worried about her, I wasn't _too _worried because Phil would have called me if there had been a change no matter what the time. It didn't stop me from coming close to freaking when I went to her room and there was someone else in the bed. An orderly was quick to inform me Ms. Jessup had been moved to another room, a nicer one. Maybe a better room helped Xavier sleep last night.

The nurse comes in to do a vitals check while I'm gazing into Sunshine's lovely face the same way I had the day before. As though I don't know, because Phil would have called to tell me, I ask, "Goski still in charge of her?"

"Yes, ma'am." The nurse answered too quickly, as though she's paying more attention to me than her patient.

"Is he available to update me?" I'm watching her and I can see she's being professional but doesn't like being close to a mutant. Her face scrunches when she has to touch her.

"I'm sorry, he's in surgery right now."

"Okay, can you tell me if she's had any visitors?" Casually, I brush my jacket away from my badge clipped to my belt. It never hurts to let them know I'm a cop. Hospital staff tend to be more honest once they have that information and I had never seen her before so she might not know.

She's looking a bit surprised at my question, as though wondering who would want to visit a mutie. "No, ma'am, you're the only one."

Keeping in mind the visiting hours, which no one usually pays attention to in cases like Sunshine's, it's possible the people Logan said cared about her haven't had a chance to visit. Xavier hadn't informed the teachers about her whereabouts, much less the students, and Logan would have gotten back a little late for anyone come to the hospital. Still, I feel an even stronger tie. I'm notorious for getting personally involved, but not this much. I'm the one that's been here for her, I'm the one who wants her to have justice, and I'm the one who can't do shit yet.

Looking at my watch, I reluctantly decide I have to leave. "Alright, would you do me a favor and pass a message to Dr. Goski? Just tell him Ms. Jessup doesn't have any powers."

In my opinion, the nurse looks far too relieved and I might have to talk to Phil about her. I'll make sure the woman gets kicked out on her ass if she's careless and lets Sunshine die. This case is _mine_ and better stay that way.

My expression might have gotten a little fierce because she readily agrees a little more submissively than before, "I can do that, Officer."

* * *

To my surprise, Frickman's on time for once because he's already at the station when I arrive. Unfortunately, he left his brain in his pocket. The stupid dipshit is sitting in my chair and has his feet on my desk. Did I say he was getting better? Guess I was wrong.

"Since you're right by my phone, have I gotten any messages?" Casually, I shove him off my desk and he has the nerve to look affronted.

"Geez, Sanchez, I just got here." Frickman yawns, letting me know he forgot to brush his teeth or use mouthwash this morning. "No one's had a chance to call."

It was too much to hope Logan would have gotten through to either Xavier or Frost this quickly. Shrugging off my jacket, I put Frickman's bad personal hygiene from my mind. "How about a new case?"

He avoids my eyes which is not a good sign. "Captain said we're supposed to help Ansley and Weiss."

Well, there's an indication I'm in the doghouse. For anyone else, Captain DeCarlo would pile them up with as many cases as possible, but not me. I'm a workaholic. To show me I've gotten on his bad side, he gives me nada.

At least I can stick Frickman with Weiss and work with Ansley. He was my partner before we both made detective and I've missed him like mad. Ansley used his brain and had never expected me to leave mine at home. I hadn't needed to 'train' him, as partners we'd trained each other in such a way that left all others wanting. Like with lovers, you never forget your first real partner. "What've they got for us?"

"Roarkeman made parole and hooked up with Skinner, they're already wanted for questioning about a mugging near the QuickStop on Fifteenth Street." He shrugged. "We can pick them up any time at old lady Skinner's house."

Known felons, Johnny Roarkeman and Carl Skinner have been partners in crime since kindergarten when they started their careers by taking the other kids' lunch money after beating them up. They can't stay out of trouble and always go to Geraldine Skinner's place to hide, Carl's aging mother. You'd think they'd learn by now we've figured out their pattern but those two don't have half a brain between them. "How 'bout you and Wiess take them and I'll ride with Ansley?"

"Sorry, you can't get rid of me that easy. I'm supposed to stick with you to keep you out of trouble, Captain's orders."

Though not on a personal level, my captain does indeed know me well. I wonder if he told Frickman not to shower so he'd get on my nerves that much more. The man has a mean streak and I've got to respect that. I want to be just like him when I grow up.

But now I'm torn. I don't want to leave the phone for whenever Logan calls and I don't want our perps to give a little old lady a heart attack. Decisions, decisions.

Willing the phone to ring, I sigh. It would be nice to start working Sunshine's case as soon as I got the okay, but realistically I would probably have to switch back and forth between cases anyway. Or usually I would, today's an exception. Also, I'm not good at sitting around patiently. Guess there wasn't really a decision to make.

"Let's go get 'em before the nice Mrs.Skinner's neighbors call and complain that we took too long." Very sweet natured, Geraldine would let her son and his friend stay with her as long as they liked, which her neighbors wouldn't appreciate in the least. They're the ones who always call in, not her. However, sweet old lady she is - and not a little senile - she still has more sense than the 'boys'. She _knows _they won't be there long. The nice woman starts baking as soon as they arrive in order to give the arresting officers a treat. Captain DeCarlo must not be aware of that one or I'm sure he'd have given the run to someone else. Hopefully she made muffins this time, I skipped breakfast.

Putting my jacket back on and leading the way to our assigned car, I wonder what the point was taking it off in the first place. Frickman's still grumbling about how we could wait, I think he's afraid Mrs. Skinner's goodies won't be done baking. Then, from out of the blue, he goes and says something which makes me see him in a new light.

"By the way, how's that little yellow mutant girl doing?"

Stopping in my tracks, hoping my shock doesn't show on my face, I try to be neutral in my response. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, she's still our case, right?" Frickman even looks earnest. "Would hate for her to go to those jerks in homicide."

I hate when I've got someone pigeon-holed and they suddenly don't fit. With that one question, Frickman's gone up in my esteem. Setting aside the bad hygiene, immaturity, and all around stupidity, he's on our vic's side. He's on my side. He's being a real partner. For all those things, I can put up with a lot.

"Damn right, she is."

"Good." He gives me a lopsided grin. "She's hot."

But he's still a dipshit.

* * *

So on the second day of a rape/assault case, we're doing squat. Time consuming errands which any beat cop could do, should be doing. Very little of it made any difference except to make the other detective's jobs easier.

After each errand, big or little, I checked for messages. Sit in on a questioning, check messages. Type a report, check messages. Run a perp through processing, check messages. I wanted to keep busy so even volunteered to get everyone coffee - completely out of character for me - just for something to do before I checked for messages again.

Someone else's phone would ring and I'd jump for it, sure it was Logan. Of course, it wasn't. Obviously, I was anxious. Just a little.

One of the times I was sitting at my desk willing the phone to ring, it actually did. But it wasn't Logan. In a brusquely professional voice, completely without any personal feelings, Phil Goski informed me Sunshine had flatlined. I thought my heart would stop too. He had to shout to get my attention enough to tell me she'd only been technically dead for four minutes. The nurse hadn't let me down and saved her. Everyone was surprising me today. Sunshine was still in the coma but her condition was much more critical. Phil didn't have to say it could happen again literally any minute, it was in his voice anyway.

For the next couple hours, there's no way to release the tension and it just keeps building. I'm not good at waiting, I suck at stakeouts. Patience is not one of my virtues - not counting for revenge which is entirely different. My hope from last night has dwindled to nothing with Goski's call. I'm so pissy even Ansley's avoiding me.

Can't call Logan directly. He got rid of his cell phone when he got married and bought one for his wife, happy he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. I don't have Jubilee Logan's number and didn't think to ask for it last night. I'm forbidden from calling the school for anything. By going to that arcade, I might screw up any headway Logan's making. I'm stuck here and I hate it.

I wanted to go into a panic. I wanted to jerk Frost's so perfectly coiffed hair out of her head. I wanted to knock Xavier's chair over and watch him struggle like a turtle turned upside down. I wanted to yell some sense into those snotty people up the hill. I WANTED TO DO MY DAMN JOB!

But so far, none of those things were going to happen.

Frickman was lucky Ansley was there to keep him from saying something stupid. However concerned he might be, Frickman has a way of making the wrong comment at the wrong time. It wouldn't help anything if I shot him. Nothing vital, but I wouldn't be averse to seeing blood flow freely from a flesh wound. Maybe someday Frickman will understand how Ansley saved him.

To make matters worse, around three-thirty my captain gets another call. The only reason I realize this, is my fellow detectives aren't giving me sidelong looks anymore. They're looking at his office instead.

A new tension has entered the room, no longer from me alone. Through the blinds of his window, we can see his face. Whatever is being said, it's bad. Very bad. For one of us.

Now, Frickman and I have been on shit duty all day. Why would I possibly think that call is about me?

I've never told anyone, but sometimes I get these... _feelings_. Sometimes it's a tightening of my stomach, a warning of danger and I need to duck. Sometimes it's a snippet of a scene in a dream that happens the next day. Sometimes just a hint that I've missed something and need to go further in a certain direction. Nothing really explainable, a 'gut instinct' is the best I can describe it.

But other times, it's real knowledge. I just _KNOW_. I don't reason and got from point 'A' to point 'B' to point 'C', I don't even skip from point 'A' to 'C', point 'Z' is there in my mind without all the trouble. Don't have to think or wonder, I _know_.

For a second, every bit of it's going on inside me. I _know _the call is about me. I _know _the Mayor and the Chief of Police are in conference with my captain. I _know _the bad thing is going to happen to me. I _KNOW_.

To confirm it, Captain DeCarlo's door bangs open and he shouts, "Sanchez!"

No mention of Frickman, only me. A really bad sign. Pretending my stomach isn't cramping like I have a period from hell, I walk in and take the chair he gestures to while he closes the blinds. Another bad sign, he only does that if it's very very bad. I am in so much trouble.

DeCarlo is hard to read. He was angry a moment ago, but it's different now. Maybe resigned?

"You know I just got a call," he begins.

Not a question, he knew we all know when he gets one of 'those' calls. "Yes, sir."

"It was both Mayor Hayes and the Chief of Police."

Closing my eyes as my stomach tightens more, "Yes, sir."

"I told you yesterday to keep away from Xavier's, to leave them the hell alone."

Again, not a question. He did say that. "Yes, sir."

His eyes are boring into mine and I feel like a child about to be reprimanded by a stern parent. "Was I not clear enough?"

"I'm sorry, sir?" There had been a question but I didn't understand it.

"Didn't I make it clear you weren't to speak to anyone from Xavier's?"

Oh shit. "You were clear, sir. I didn't call or go to the school."

"But you _did _talk to one of the staff."

Another statement, not a question. Shit, shit, shit! It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Instead of me getting a call from Logan telling me I could get back to work, the Mayor got another call. To my knowledge, it was the first time Logan had failed an objective. "Outside of school grounds, I spoke to a person I am familiar with to further my investigation into a brutal assault and rape."

"What you did was give information about an ongoing investigation to a civilian associated with your case who is a long time employee of the establishment I told you to have no contact with!"

"I didn't contact the school and I didn't step foot on school property." Holding firm to that was all I had. Going around orders is one thing, getting caught going around orders another. "I was at a bar, one I regularly go to, and someone I knew came in. I pumped him for information since the opportunity was there and provided only what was already given to the school administrators."

"Don't split hairs. Professor Xavier and Ms. Frost had a right to know what was going on, your friend didn't. According to our information you _asked _him to meet you. Through his wife."

Don't you hate it when something comes back to bite you on the ass? It was a good thing I'd skipped the arcade. "I followed the only course I saw open to me."

He didn't see it that way. "You went against orders! Orders passed directly through me from the Mayor and Chief of Police!"

The way Captain DeCarlo put these things, they sounded like I'd done a bad thing. My being on the defensive and my nerves being shot is the only excuse I have for what I said next. "Sunshine deserves more than she's getting!"

Why, oh why, did I let that out? No matter how true, it was the wrong thing to say. I'm not supposed to take a case personally and it's just another reason for me to be in trouble. Though it should be, this isn't about Sunshine. It's about me. Doesn't matter that the orders were bogus, doesn't matter that I did it for the right reasons, I went against orders. I was wrong and knew it at the time.

But my outburst doesn't have the effect I thought it would. He no longer looks like he's going to explode all over me. DeCarlo's shoulders slump and his expression is back to being that one I'm not quite sure about.

"Sanchez, I like you. You're a better woman than my wife. I put Frickman with you because you think more than most of the other detectives in this department." His hand waves in the air like he's fanning away smoke. "Peterman was a problem long before you made your complaint and whatever anyone else believes, I could have assigned anyone to you. Frickman has potential and I wanted him to learn from one of my best."

This was news to me. Both Frickman having so much potential and me being the best. I don't think I'm the best, I just do the best I can. From what I understood, the main reason I was given the opportunity to become a detective was because I have an 'ethnic' background and I'm a woman. They needed minorities in more levels of the Salem-Center police force which is mostly white Caucasian men. I was a twofer.

"As a woman, you care too much. It's gotten you in trouble before and this time you went too far. This isn't about a girl whose been victimized. The upper brass has their reasons for what they say, and you went against them. Sanchez, you tried to dig a tunnel under their wall and they don't like it."

Maybe I was having another 'feeling' or maybe I've been doing this too long. I hadn't understood what they were looking for. Or maybe I had because I did warn Logan. Mayor Hayes and the Chief of Police may not hate mutants but they didn't like Xavier's. They wanted an excuse to go in and tear the place apart. They wanted Sunshine to die so they could do it. If I solved the case before she died, they wouldn't be able to. And Xavier had played right into their hands.

"Detective Sanchez, I have been ordered to advise you, you are hereby suspended from duty." His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, apparently from a bad taste in his mouth. "Indefinitely."

to be continued.

* * *

note: Bet you weren't expecting that, huh? Things are moving right along though. Don't worry, it's all part of my master plan. (insert evil laugh here) Seriously though, I do have a basic plan going. 

Major KUDOS to MeadowLark4491. Both Sanchez and Sunshine, as well as Ansley, are from "Ordinary People". Sanchez and Ansley were the police officers at the QuickStop, and Sunshine was in the last chapter talking to Maggie. There will be characters from other stories in this one so keep your eyes out for them. One of them was seriously requested to have another story of her own. She will only be a secondary character here but her role will be very important.

I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. I had surgery recently and the painkillers and physical therapy messed me up so I completely forgot about posting. No worries, I'm okay. I just forgot what day of the week it was. The next chapter should be right on time next Tuesday.

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	4. Chapter 4

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine  
**by Dizi

Chapter 4

Have you ever been fired? Walked out in front of your friends and colleagues right after? Had to hold your head up despite the shame?

There was no reason for me to be ashamed. I hadn't done anything wrong. Well, I had, but not really. As a cop I shouldn't have to go around the Mayor and Chief of Police to catch a criminal. I'm not a politician, I'm a police detective. We're supposed to use all our resources to get the job done, I did that. The job isn't meant to have an agenda. I've done nothing to be ashamed of.

But I feel it. I can't help it, the shame is there. A queasiness turning my stomach very unlike the cramps from before. I wanted to throw up.

Not gripping to lead the way but resting kindly for support, Captain DeCarlo's hand is on my shoulder. As a gentleman, he's carrying my jacket. I was too numb to put it on, but I hadn't known how naked I would feel without my badge and gun. Almost as though I have no clothes on. Just another bit of shame and embarrassment.

As we pass by desks, some officers stand in acknowledgment and others don't. Popularity has never been my goal, must be like Frickman because I tend to rub the wrong way. Weis stands and I thought he hated me. Ansley looks stricken and Frickman is blank for once. And the feelings heighten more.

Tough woman I am, there's not a hint of tears. Their last sight of me will be standing tall with my head up. No shame here. I have my pride. It's working on automatic.

Outside the weather is warm, but I shiver anyway.

DeCarlo hesitates before putting my jacket around my shoulders, saying quietly, "I'm sorry."

Nodding because I understand that after his little speech in his office, we continue to my car.

He opens the door for me, closing it after I get in.

Though the keys are in my hand, I don't move to start the motor. Where do I go? What do I do? My time is my own. What am I supposed to do with it? Being a cop is my life. I don't know anything else. I'm... empty.

Thankfully, a knock on the window distracts me from _not _thinking. It's Frickman.

Rolling down the window, I can see he has something in his hands. As soon as it's down enough, he's shoving a ziplock through. It takes a moment to realize what it is. Cookies from Mrs. Skinner. She gave us both a large bag stuffed full. Another one lands in my lap, half empty.

"I thought you can eat them and veg while you figure things out." Proud of himself, Frickman's face is shining.

Doesn't seem like much, but it's a sacrifice on his part. The white chocolate-walnut cookies are good. I know because I ate one. Had to lock them in my desk drawer to keep them relatively safe and immediately caught Weis trying to pick the lock. And here was Frickman giving me my cookies and his own. I was touched. He had to break into my desk to do it, but I'm touched.

"Ansley's going to clear out your desk and bring you your stuff so you don't have to come back." His voice lowered conspiratorially. "He's worried about you, but I told him you're too strong for that. I know this won't keep you down long."

I have to swallow to get past the lump in my throat. Frickman has faith in me. How about that? I don't.

Maybe it showed on my face, I don't have much control at the moment. He gives me his typical lopsided grin, the same one that usually irritates me. But right now, I don't care he's a little boy in a man's body. "You'll be kicking butt wherever you end up. That's the way you are, Sanchez."

A boy giving his big sister encouraging words as best he can. My own little brothers never did that. Heck, neither did my older brothers or any of my sisters. Frickman deserved a little white lie. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Go home and eat your cookies, maybe get drunk. In the morning you can figure it all out."

Smiling, though not a real smile, I start the car. He's beaming at me as I drive down the road. My captain... no, not mine anymore... _DeCarlo _was right, Frickman has potential. I just won't be there to see where it takes him.

A little more of those bad feelings pile on.

* * *

I went home.

I ate a couple cookies.

But my life in its current condition isn't a cookie problem. I don't want to think about it. How my life is shit. How I no longer have a life. How my mother would try to find me a 'good husband' as soon as I told her.

I'm not wife material. Don't want to be. All I need in a man is a boy-toy or fuck-buddy. That's it. Someone who expects me to cook his dinner and clean his house would get shot. Unlike with Frickman, I'd want it to be lethal. Hundreds of hours spent at the shooting range have left me with very good aim, so then I'd be in jail. Where I used to put perps. I can't get away from it.

The phone rings for fifteen minutes straight. I don't want to talk to anyone.

That's when I remember how all this started and what's it's really about. Logan was going to call me so I could work Sunshine's case. Since I'm no longer a cop, I can't work the case. I don't care if it's him calling anymore.

But Sunshine is something else. The connection I felt before is still there. Who's going to care about her? Who's going to get her justice? Who'll be with her when she dies?

My apartment is beginning to make me feel agoraphobic and I can't stand listening to the phone ring, I have to get out. Automatically, I put on my jacket to cover the gun which isn't there. Under the circumstances, being armed may not be the wisest course, but I don't feel right without one. Going to my gunsafe and I pull out a personal spare. It's licensed, if that makes a difference.

Then I grab the cookies. Who cares if it's a cookie problem or not? They're good. I have to remember to send a thank-you note to Mrs. Skinner.

* * *

With Sunshine on my mind, I go to the hospital. She's still in the plush room. Like she cares. She's in a fricking coma! What difference does it make what the room looks like?

Coffee in hand - don't you know all cops drink coffee? - and cookies on a side table, I sit beside her with the TV muted. Not sure why the TV was turned on, but there's nothing to watch. Pretty sure Sunshine doesn't care about that either.

Unable to resist, I touch her arm. Her skin feels like anyone else's, just a different color. Working with a bunch of white men, I can relate. Maybe not completely, my brown skin is more accepted, but it's something else to have in common. Another tie.

She doesn't know me from shit. I'm just the cop - who's no longer a cop - who got the call. That's all I was supposed to be. If I hadn't taken her personally, I would still be a cop. Would anyone have stood up for her then? I shouldn't dwell on it. No longer any business of mine. But I'm here anyway.

"Visiting hours are over."

Dr. Phil Goski's standing beside me, didn't even hear him come in. Some cop I am... was.

Picking up a cookie from the table, I hold it up. "Want one?"

"Sure." He's quiet for a moment, nibbling. "It's good. You make them?"

"Yeah, right." Do I need to have the 'wife' discussion with him? I couldn't bake to save my life. "Gift from a perp's mom. Long story."

"Okay." Dusting off his hands, Goski's deliberately not looking at me. "You can talk to her, you know."

I'm guessing he knows what happened an hour or so ago. If he doesn't bring it up, I won't. "She won't hear me."

"Makes her a good listener. Great quality in a teenager."

Oh, he knows alright. I make sure there's a note of finality in my response. "She's got enough problems of her own."

Goski just nods. It's not his business and he's got his own problems too. Any trauma doctor does. "You're not her only visitor anymore."

"Oh?" Do I really care at this point? Yep. It's nice to know someone gives a damn about her. Besides me, that is.

"Tall guy, red glasses and a big black guy with an 'M' tattooed on his face. Ring any bells?"

Not a one. "Probably from the school. They wouldn't let me talk to anyone, so I can't say for sure, but where else would they come from?"

"Maybe they'll come back and you can question them."

Possibly I was wrong and he doesn't know. Don't think he'd be that cruel. Lord, this means I have to say it. "Got in trouble for that. They took my badge. It's not my case, I don't have any cases." Closing my eyes briefly, I repeat, "They took my badge."

"Take me out of the hospital and I'm still a doctor. It's what I am." He's looking at me intently now, trying to say something I'm not getting. "Doesn't change who you are, Sanchez."

"Didn't you hear what I said?" I sound petulant and don't care. I deserve to whine. "I'm not a cop anymore. I did what I could and they knocked me down. I'm out of it."

Quiet for several minutes, Goski stares at Sunshine. He's still looking at her when he speaks again. "Jordan called and told me she's his case now. He didn't ask about anything but how long she has."

Pete Jordan. He was one of the men who didn't stand for me. A mutant hater and most likely a closet member of the FOH, he'll play with the higher ups. They most likely hand-picked him. Jordan would jump for joy when Sunshine died. "What did you tell him?"

"She'll have every last minute I can give her."

Suddenly, I remember his age. It's easy to forget Goski's old enough to be my grandfather. Though he looks young, Phil's not a spring chicken. He has an eye for pretty girls and he plays around on his wife regularly, according to gossip. From all I've seen, he's a terrific doctor. His focus and intensity in his work makes him seem ageless. He's not and every wrinkle is standing out as his lifelong experience shows through.

"I repeat, it doesn't change who you are."

"What do you want from me?" It occurs to me he's also taking Sunshine too personally. I could understand his concern, but I was blocked all around. They took my badge and I'm not a cop anymore. I keep having to say that, out loud and to myself. It hurts. I don't want to say it again. Why won't he leave me alone to eat my cookies?

"Just think about it." Taking another cookie, he does what I want and leaves.

Like I don't have enough to think about. I don't want to think at all. What good would it do? All I can think about is how shitty everything is. And Sunshine.

You know, I don't really know anything about her at all. Xavier said she's a good student, Logan said Jubilee likes her, and her life was destroyed within a few minutes. Rape victims can be helped with good therapy and determination. Is she the sort of person who could to get on with her life? Did she have the strength inside her?

Suppose not being a cop has one benefit for me, I don't feel a reluctance to wonder about her. Is she a fashion hound, pouring over magazines like 'Vogue' and 'Cosmo'? Taking an hour in the morning to get dressed and having a drawer full of makeup which she has to have just right. Or is she a tomboy, preferring sports? Throwing on whatever is handy everyday and knowing every team's stats. Does she have a boyfriend? That would be a good lead...

It doesn't end! I can't stop thinking about her as a case. God, what am I going to do?

What I'm _not _going to do is forget about her. I just can't. For all the good it does either of us.

Staring at her hand lying still on the white sheet, the steady beeping of the heart monitor and various other machines keeping her alive lulls me. Falling asleep, I have my coffee cup in one hand and a cookie in the other.

* * *

My fingers having gone slack, the styrofoam cup hitting the floor wakes me up. Trying to do my job and losing it in the same day must have worn me out. I'm used to going without much sleep, think that will be a problem anymore? At least the cup was empty.

Old habits die hard and I want more coffee, so it's time for a break. Break from what I'm not sure, but a break. Also, my bladder is screaming.

After stashing the rest of the cookies in a cabinet, I head for the elevators. The double doors are sliding open as I get there, a group of about half a dozen getting off. Seeing Jubilee Logan, I duck my head and turn the other way. Excluding her, talking to a bunch of people from Xavier's would _really _make my day complete. There's another set of elevators on the other end of the hall.

Restrooms are all over. Since my need has become dire, I stop off at the one near the elevators. Vending machines for coffee are plentiful as well, but I need to stretch my legs so go to the cafeteria on the first floor. It's not the best I've ever had but better than from a machine. Should eat some 'real' food but I ate enough cookies to make me sick.

You know, there's really not much to do in a hospital. Maybe Frost and Xavier have made me think badly of the school's faculty, but I figure Sunshine's visitors won't stay long. I shouldn't generalize, Logan's not like that and his wife isn't, but I don't know the others and have only a recent bad example to compare them to. Deciding to be stubborn about it, I go to the small waiting room a few doors down and situate myself so I'll be able to see them leave and can go back in. I've got nowhere else to go anyway.

There's another TV on. What is it with this place and TV's? I didn't know there were so many talk shows on the air.

A man comes in and sits a chair away from me. Light hair, blue eyes, taller than me. He must have opted to try the vending machine by the cup in his hand. Actually, man might not be the right word, he looks young, possibly late teens. He doesn't look like he's in a good mood, but then who in a hospital waiting room is? Well, probably expectant fathers are but none of them are going to be on this floor, not and be in a good mood.

"Is the person yore waitin' for in surgery?" he asks after a few minutes, his Southern accent there for anyone to identify.

"Excuse me?" It might have gotten obvious I'm not watching TV. Maybe it was the way my gaze was focused on the wall by the door. The young man had decided I might want to talk. It's not unusual for strangers to talk in waiting rooms, share their pain. I just hadn't realized I looked like that kind of person.

"Ah understood this floor's for people eithah in surgery or critical aftah, and Ah was wonderin' if yore's was in or out." Ducking his head, his eyes on the floor, he continues apologetically, "But Ah'm bein' too forward, ma'am, and Ah apologize for that."

"Out. She... she's not expected to last long." Sunshine isn't really 'mine', but I am here for her. Saying it aloud, I realize there might be something to talking. Who is he going to tell what I say? It's not often I get the chance to unload. "I'm letting some other people be private with her."

"Same herah. Feels like Ah oughtta be doin' somethin', but Ah'm not sure what. Gotta be something, though."

He has an air of helplessness about him. Now I kow why people talk in waiting rooms. They're all in the same boat. "Sometimes there's not anything to do."

"Oughtta be," he insists. "She could die any minute an' therah should be somthin' we can do. Somethin'."

How many times have I thought those words? Of course, there was something I _should _be doing. Justice wouldn't make Sunshine miraculously better, but it was something I should be doing for her. "Just being here makes a difference, I think."

"That's why Ah came, but standin' therah... it didn't feel like enough."

Again, what he says rings within me. It wasn't enough, just all I could give. I feel so much in tune with him, I volunteer my first piece of personal information. "I don't even know her, my... friend."

"Ah wonder if everyone feels that way? Like we shoulda taken the time ta know 'em bettah." His sigh is heartfelt, emoting a deep pain. "Ah see her lyin' so still and Ah wish Ah'd known her more."

I watch him rub his face with his hand in a nervous gesture and I can't help thinking I want Xavier and friends to be like him, to feel as he does. Surely he would want the bastard responsible to be caught and punished for his crime. Funny, how a stranger is saying everything I want to hear. My eyes beginning to sting, I give some more. "Actually, I was being literal. I saw her for the first time yesterday morning."

"Ah'm sorry." He didn't really say it in apology, sympathy, or question, yet somehow conveyed all three and was still polite.

"And you mean that, I can tell. I wish _they _did." Tears start overflowing and I don't even try to stop them. Talking about myself, I wouldn't do it so easily. For Sunshine, I can. She can't cry and tears need to be shed. I'm probably confusing the hell out of him, but it feels good to say some of this. It doesn't need to make sense to anyone but me. "I wish they felt the way you do."

"How do yah know they don't?"

Turning to face me straight on, he's so earnest, ready to believe the best of someone. It's so cute, he's cute. Through the tears, I'm taking notice of his physique, though he's too young for me. Okay, I'm lying. He's built and cute, that's really all that's in my criteria for a good time. Geez, I have to be bad off to be thinking about getting a one night stand from a hospital waiting room. Anyone willing to think the best of people they don't know _really _well, is too young for me.

However, in for a penny, in for a pound. Sorry to be the one to disillusion him, I explain, "Sunshine's been here in the hospital more than thirty-six hours and I've spent more time with her than the people she lives with."

Surprise and indignation mix together, making his voice unnaturally high. "That cain't be right!"

"No, it's not right," I agree. "They don't seem to care enough and I lost my badge because I care too much."

He's staring at me in shock and I think I've said more than enough. I hadn't meant to say that last part. Unloading Sunshine's problems are one thing, but my problems are my own.

The tears are still rolling from my eyes. Whether Sunshine can see me or not, I don't want to cry in front of her. Also, I'm no longer in the mood to talk and the coffee's even gone cold, which is just another reason it's time to leave. Wiping my eyes with the back of my hands, I give the young man a pitiful excuse for a smile and stand, "I gotta go."

"Ma'am, wait! Therah's somethin' yah need tah know!" Quickly getting up, he follows me through the door.

Miracle of miracles, the elevator's open and waiting. Just before getting in, I shake my head at him, "Sorry, but I was given some advice earlier and I think it's time to take it."

"But, ma'am, yah don't understand," he says again.

The doors are taking a long time to close. Looking past him, I see Jubilee with Goski. Her eyes widen and she starts towards me.

"Right now," I respond putting my finger on the 'Close Door' button, "I just don't care."

Pressing it, the doors do indeed close, shutting out him and Jubilee.

to be continued

* * *

note: Okay, I'm not sure what to say about this one. Lots of little things happened that are important on a personal level for Sanchez, and a couple things happened to further the plot, but it doesn't feel like anything major happened, does it? But, once again, things are moving along. (Though I like that Frickman gave Sanchez his cookies :D) 

I've finished chapter 6, am a third to half-way done with chapter 7, AND have some of chapter 8 done (or it might end up being chapter 9, we'll see). I hope to have 7 finished by the time I'm done posting chapter 6. Hope that made sense.

Anyway, next chapter next week!

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	5. Chapter 5

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine  
**by Dizi

Chapter 5

"Mi Dios, save me from this pain and I promise to try to go to Mass every Sunday."

I woke to the morning sun shining in my eyes and thought I was seeing the Light. Then I thought I was going blind. The pounding in my head made me hope I was dying. No such luck. Since God didn't respond to my plea, he's either not listening, knows I'd never be able to keep my promise, or thinks I'm getting what I deserve.

There is a universal tradition in times like these that I felt the need to follow. Truthfully, I'm not one for most traditions. If I was I would never have become a police officer. Such is not a 'traditional' role for a female. Along with everything else, I'm also the 'black sheep' of the family. For example, I was raised in a good Catholic family and have a firm faith in God, but I'm not a good Catholic. It's rare I go to Sunday mass and I've missed every single Holy Day of Obligation for the last three years. My mother thinks I should be excommunicated. It's no wonder God didn't believe me.

Frickman suggested this particular tradition, actually. Three little words, "Maybe get drunk." So I'm going to blame him entirely because I got STINKING drunk. Don't think my mother would approve of me following this particular tradition. Oh well, what she doesn't know won't hurt me.

Drink of choice is different for everyone. My brothers prefer Tequila. Ansley tells me beer does it fine for him, but he doesn't drink much and has a low threshold. Harry swears whiskey, preferably aged Scotch, is the best way to go about it. As the owner of a bar and a bartender, I cited him as an expert witness and bought three bottles of Jack Daniel's. One to get drunk, a second to make sure I was very drunk, and a third just in case. Might not be exactly what he ordered, but it did the job.

Very well, in fact. Too well. I have the worst hangover of my life.

'Course that's what I always think. Not that I get drunk that often, but it's been known to happen. Logan used to think it a hoot to drink me under the table. Tied one on with Ansley a few months ago when his son was born. I swore that time never to do it again. Who knew I'd lose my job, my life? It sounded like a good idea last night. This morning... not so good.

Like most everyone, I tend to do stupid shit when I'm drunk. Now to figure out what I did. Give me a few minutes and it'll come to me.

Okay, I remember the phone ringing a whole helluva lot so I unplugged it. Didn't want any bad news, which is pretty much all it could have been. Nothing yesterday was good, or too little to count anyway. Things keep up this way, I might just go to my mother about getting help for the 'evil eye'. Couldn't hurt. Hopefully.

Let see... what else? I'd drunk the first bottle and started the second, all the while feeling sorry for myself... Someone banged on the door... I knocked over the bottle... It spilled all over the coffee table... I didn't feel like cleaning it up... Vaguely, I remember getting up from the couch when the banging continued...

'Banging' could have just been my perception. I was a little irritated at the interruption. Which would be why I was less than friendly when I opened the door to... the guy from the waiting room? Oh God! It's really coming back now!

I offered him a drink... He hesitated before accepting... We talked about God knows what...

And I jumped him.

At the hospital he looked so young. Please, please, please, let him be over eighteen! Shit! I gave him liquor! I need him to be over twenty-one!

I don't know about other people, other women, but when I drink I get... well... horny. It's one of the reasons I drink with friends, so they can keep me from picking up strange men. It's also why I was drinking alone. At home. In my apartment. Without pretzels or peanuts to snack on. I was trying to be responsible! Dammit!

Though, you know, now I'm remembering more and more, I have to say he was damn good lay. Guy has shoulders to die for, pretty eyes, great big... hands. Hands that seemed to be everywhere at once. Or it might have been all the alcohol. I can't quite remember everything but my body's aching in _aaaalllll _the right places. Don't even remember when we made it to the bedroom, I'm sure we started out in the livingroom.

Wait a minute! Hold everything!

Sitting up straight, I look around. Nothing seems to be out of place and the other side of the bed is empty. Maybe he got his rocks off and left, like any good one-nighter should? Something just doesn't feel right about that. How did he know where I live? Why the hell would some guy I met at the hospital come to my place? Did he follow me home? No, something's definitely not right.

Grabbing my robe off the floor, I pull it over my naked body, tying the belt tight. First, I'll plug the phone back in, then call Goski. Find out how Sunshine's doing and ask a few questions about the cutie from last night.

Only I go into the other room and... there he is. Washing my dishes? That's different. Most just leave when they see me the next morning or are already gone - I prefer the second option. Logan used to stay in bed and pretend to be asleep until after I left for work. This one might be worth keeping around. After I know he's not some weirdo stalker type.

I try to be quiet as I go to the phone. Huh, it's already plugged in. He must have done it. The Jack Daniels is cleaned up too. Oh yeah, this one's a keeper. For a little while. If he's wacko, I'll just call my good buddy Ansley to come over and arrest him. He doesn't look so tough, I'm sure I can handle him long enough for the cavalary to arrive. Problem solved.

"Making yourself at home?" No need to be too nice about it and my head is pounding. Can't expect niceness to come with a hangover.

"Mornin'." He turns around without looking the least bit startled. Was I that loud while I held my head moaning? Probably. "I was about tah wake yah up but Ah thought the coffee would do the trick."

"Coffee would be great." It would have been enough to wake me on a normal day, but I'd been a little preoccupied. Also fresh coffee coming out of _my _coffee pot was unheard of. I usually get out of bed in time to run out the door. Don't have to worry about that anymore. Leaning against the counter, I watch him get a mug from the dish drainer. Good thing he washed dishes because all three of my mugs had been dirty. "Not to complain, but you didn't have to do all this."

"Ah woke up early an' had a lotta energy. Besides, mah Ma taught me not tah leave a mess sittin' around."

Mine did too but you don't see me cleaning up after anyone else. Hell, I don't clean after myself much. He gives me the mug along with a half-smile. He really is cute, whatever his name is. Maybe I should ask? Nah. Why complicate things?

"Yah don't have much time before yore meetin' with Professor Xavier."

I didn't spit out the coffee. It was a close thing, but I didn't do it. Would have been a waste of good coffee. I did have to sit it on the countertop due to the anger making my fingers shake. "I'll be happy if I never see Xavier again. So that's not a problem, is it?"

"But last night yah said-" he begins in confusion.

Not letting him finish, I interrupt in the bitchiest tone I can manage, "If you couldn't tell, I was drunk last night. I don't care how good a screw you are, there's no way I agreed to meet that bastard."

"Ah knew yah had been drinkin' but Ah didn't know yah were drunk."

"Trust me, the way my head hurts, I was VERY drunk." And it does hurt, it really really does hurt. Probably why I haven't been thinking as quickly as usual. I'm getting there though. Some things are too obvious not to be understood. "You go to Xavier's."

"Yah could put it that way." Shaking his head at me, he seems to be disappointed. "Yah don't remember anythin' we said, do yah?"

"What we _said_? No, I don't." Never have been a good liar, it's really not necessary when the truth hurts someone so much more. Seeing his lean body relax against the wall, there are many images from last night running through my head. Hot instances giving me thoughts of trying it all again to see if he's as good as my faulty memory is implying. But I'm not remembering any words and I don't have time for more sex, especially with some guy from Xaviers - who might be a kid.

"If yah tell me where the aspirin is Ah'll get yah some. Then we can go over it all again."

He stated it so simply, without accusation, I'm inclined to listen. Myself, I'd be exasperated and irritated beyond belief. I'd say he's too good to be true but I get the feeling he wants something. Gut instinct or something else, who knows? He made me coffee, did my dishes, and I don't have to do whatever it is he wants. I can listen. "Second cabinet on the left, right by the sink."

Silently, he gets the pills. Mmm, aspirin and coffee, just what I need. "Speak, oh wondrous Man-Who-Does-Dishes. Start with your name and tell me you're over twenty-one."

"Samuel Zachary Guthrie an', yes, Ah'm over twenty-one." He flashes a quick smile at me. "Ah look young for mah age."

"Lucky you." I wait for him to go on but he just stands there. "And?"

"Aren't yah gonna introduce yoreself?"

"Call me Sanchez." I can see him getting confused, perhaps hurt. Relenting, I explain, "I'm not cutting you out, that's what everyone calls me, except family. You're not family, so you're stuck with 'Sanchez'."

"Yes, ma'am. Ah'm more informal, yah can call me Sam."

I think he might be laughing at me. As long as he does it quietly, due to any loud noises might make my head explode, I don't care. "You want to move this along, Sam?"

"Ah suppose Ah gotta, we're wastin' time." He sighs, letting me know he's reluctant. "It's not easy for me. Ah didn't know who yah were when we first talked. When yah said that about Sunshine an' how we don't care... Well, Ah didn't want yah tah think that's how we all feel. Logan yelled himself blue in the face, but the Professor didn't budge. Jubilee was upset an' Logan don't like that. No, ma'am, he does _not_."

Just nodding, I take another drink of my coffee. Xavier got mad at Logan and took it out on me. Sam isn't helping my mood or even telling me anything I hadn't already figured out.

"Scott has a position like Emma but he doesn't have as much patience with administrative stuff. Now yah gotta understand, he backs Emma an' the Professor in everything. It's why Logan didn't go tah Scott for help."

And I care about this because...?

"Ah'm sorry, this was easier when we were drinkin'." Under my steady nowhere-near-friendly gaze, he swallows. "What yah said last night... Ah don't know Sunshine eithah. I saw her in the hall an' I knew who she was, but I didn't know _her_. She was just like everyone else, just therah. Somebody did that tah her an' I'll nevah get the chance tah know her bettah. I don't like that, don't like it at all."

That's what I liked about him at the hospital. Sam says what I'm thinking. Or what I would be thinking if it had been me seeing her every day then finding out she had been attacked like this. Close enough.

"Jubilee an' Ah checked with the nurses an' yah was right about nobody visitin' her. Ah couldn't believe it, but yah was right. Her doctor said yah spent a lotta time with her. He said yah care about her an' yah got in trouble for it."

Goski was making free with my business. I need to put a stop to that. Good intentions or not, he had no right.

"So Ah did what Logan didn't, Ah talked tah Scott." Dropping his eyes, he shifts uncomfortably. "Ah told him yah lost yore job, that yore not with the police anymore. Logan was therah an' threw a fit. Scott hadn't known about yah an' wasn't happy they kept information from him. He'd just found out Sunshine was in the hospital an' gone tah see her a few hours before."

"Look, all this is very interesting. It sounds like you have a dysfunctional family thing going on over there." I don't know who this Scott person is. I don't care who he is. He has an internal problem from what I'm hearing and I don't want to get pulled into it. All I'm interested in is the point. "You said it yourself, I'm not a cop anymore. What is it you're wanting here?"

"Logan says yore good, real good. Yah care about Sunshine the same way Ah do, so Ah want yah tah get the chance tah do what yah shoulda been able in the first place. Ah want them caught an' Ah want 'em tah pay for what they done."

His fierce expression warms my heart. I want them to pay for it too. Finding the perp won't help Sunshine, she won't know or care, but there wouldn't be another like her in the future. Someone who gets away with a crime like this almost always does it again. Perps are more arrogant than Xavier and Frost could dream of being. Because nothing happened to them the first time, they think there's no consequences, that they're better and smarter than everyone else. It's a rush to see the look on their face when they find out they are so very wrong. However...

Shaking my head, I pick-up the coffee cup again. "Unless the phone rang and I didn't hear it, there's nothing I can do. I lost my badge because I didn't leave this case alone. Strings got pulled and I'm out of it. All I can do is be there for Sunshine so she's not alone when she dies."

"That's what Ah'm sayin', yah _can _do more," Sam persists. "Ah don't have the power tah get yore badge back, but yah'll be able tah work the case. Tah do it, yah gotta meet with Scott Summers an' Professor Xavier."

So nothing would really change for me in the long run. "Will Frost be there too?"

"Sorry, but it's almost guaranteed. Emma likes tah make sure she's involved in everythin'." He pauses a second and adds, "Other's like me an' Logan will be there too. We won't leave yah without support."

I get the impression he thinks I'll need all the support I can get. He's right, I would if I do this. Can I? Should I? I don't have a job and money isn't going to just show up in my bank account out of the blue. Fuck it, I have savings. Enough for a few months. I can give the time to Sunshine. But I don't have to come right out and say that. "Fine, I'll meet them. No promises other than that. It all depends on what they say."

Sam's shoulders sag in relief. "Ah was gettin' worried, but that's what yah said last night too."

A little déjà vu for him, huh? That's fine, I live with it regularly. I can only hope my particular form of it will work in our favor. Since I know little about the situation at the school other than what I've gleaned from Logan and what Sam just told me, I really am going to need all the help I can get. From what I've heard the place is a world all its own and I don't have a map. Oh well, my job was never an easy one. As always I'll do the best I can and hope it's enough.

* * *

By the time we drank more coffee and ate some cereal, then showered and dressed, we were close to running late. I took some time to check in with Goski. Sunshine's still hanging in there. I took a little more to gripe at him for sharing too much. He didn't seem concerned about it, mentioned Jordan again. Considering the prick officially on Sunshine's case, I guess I can't blame him. Doesn't mean I like it. By the time I was done yelling at Goski, we were definitely cutting it fine. Like I cared.

Sam was dropped off which meant we had to take my car. Suited me fine, I like to have a way to leave a place. Takes the drama out of a good exit if I have to wait for a taxi. Xavier's seems to excel in drama so it's good to be prepared.

Along the way, Sam continues his explanation. He tells me they hadn't found out I'd been 'indefinitely suspended' until I myself shared too much with him last night. 'Scott' had needed ammunition to change Xavier's mind about having me investigate and that had been it. Bastard hadn't meant to get me fired, just out of his way. Poor poor Xavier. What a shame he feels bad about ruining my life but can't do anything to fix it. Wah-wah, let me get out some kleenex.

So because he feels so very bad, Xavier is willing to listen to why I should be allowed to find the violent rapist he's harboring in his school. Lucky, lucky me! Sarcastic much? Oh yeah.

Trying to defend the man, Sam goes on to say that for years they've had to save many mutants from wrongful prosecution and the Professor is being cautious, trying to protect the school more than the responsible party. 'Scott' would be backing him except for Sam and Logan letting him know that I'm more neutral than other cops. Otherwise, it's about a human - meaning me - treating them as normal which is what they've been working years for. Apparently, I'm a good sign. Yippee.

I don't care about any of that shit. Their problem. Whatever they have to tell themselves is fine with me. It's results that are important. The perp being put in prison for a long long time. The rest is political and not my thing.

Pulling up in front of the school, Logan's standing outside smoking a cigar, his hat pulled down low and a scowl on his face. He appears to be mad as hell, practically growling as he greets me. "Sanchez."

The stance alone would be enough to send most running, but not me. Why? Because I know him, like I said before. Logan would see me getting my ass kicked out of the police force as being his fault. He's not really angry, he's feeling guilty. It just comes across as anger because he doesn't like guilt. Since I know whose fault it really is, I don't need him to make us both uncomfortable by apologizing - even though it would be a treat as he doesn't do it often. "Save it."

His lips tighten but Logan keeps them shut. Good. I haven't stopped him but I put it off. None of us have time for that kind of thing. Not Sunshine or anyone else involved. The perp doesn't know it, but they're on borrowed time.

"Ah'll show yah the way, Sanchez." Sam pauses and tacks on, "Ma'am."

He's been doing that since after we had our little talk. Poking fun at me, I think. Teasing because he said "Ah don't feel right callin' a woman by their last name." So he calls me "ma'am." I'm considering it a job perk. Actually, I'm considering him a job perk. Sam's nice to look at even if he's not my type. I don't usually go for blondes, no matter if they have great shoulders, pretty eyes, and great big... hands. Doesn't mean I can't look. It's like having an office with a window you don't have time to look out of. A job perk.

Time to beard the lion in his den. Walking at his side like my head isn't still hurting, I square my shoulders. Nothing hurts me. They don't scare me. I have a purpose which I will let no one get in the way of.

Whether Xavier believes it or not, I was professional before. Something he won't be seeing anymore. They might just see how tough this bitch gets.

to be continued.

* * *

note: By the way, the next chapter is the one that was lost along with my flashdrive. I was three quarters of the way done with it when it was lost. I'd been in the zone and gotten all that done in two days. Then it was gone. It was like two months later that it was found again and by then I'd been writing on something else. I did finish chapter 6 (obviously) but had some trouble getting into chapter 7. However as of last night, I'm about halfway to three quarters done with chapter 7. 

Okay, _NOW_ Sanchez is revved up and ready to kick butt! She's really got the fire back, huh? The first part of this chapter got rewritten five times before I was happy with it. Honestly, Sam was speaking to me during that part more than Sanchez. Hope you all like the inclusion of Sam, I wanted to break away from my 'usual' main characters somewhat.

Next chapter next week!

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	6. Chapter 6

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine**  
by Dizi

Chapter 6

The assholes kept me waiting for a good thirty minutes. Keeping me sitting around twiddling my thumbs would be Frost and Xavier's idea of a power trip. Showing me who's boss, of how little importance I am in their grand scheme of things. Did it bother me? You bet, just not on a personal level. Two days had been wasted, entirely their fault. Xavier's power play delay was eating up Sunshine's time. She doesn't have any to waste.

The way I was sitting slouched in the chair with my booted feet up on the table, I probably appeared to be comfortably enjoying some terrific coffee. We all know about appearances, don't we?. For one thing, I wasn't armed and didn't like it. Sam wouldn't let me bring my weapon saying a school is no place for guns. Huh, he's right about that but should listen more to the news and what goes on in the public schools. Most likely I could have brought one anyway, but being unarmed was another way to emphasize they weren't getting a cop but plain old Sanchez. On top of that, I've already mentioned how I am about waiting in the first place. I wasn't comfortable and I wasn't enjoying myself but the coffee is terrific.

Okay, who am I kidding? I _am _taking it personally. It _is _personal to me. Bad judgement on my part or not, I've made Sunshine personal, which makes the whole thing personal. My frustration about Sunshine is worse though. One of my goals in life is for the victim's problems to always take precedent over mine. Wonder how that will work in my bright and shiny future. You know, the one I don't have right now.

By looking, Sam handled the wait well but he was nervous. It didn't show in his expression which impressed me. His fingers twitched. A little thing someone who didn't know to watch for it would miss. Often, it's not the eyes or face that shows how someone's feeling, it's their hands and body language. All I saw was those restless fingers, but it was enough.

Halfway through, he offered to get me some more asprin and the coffee. Sam most likely wanted an excuse to find out what was taking them so long. In response, I suggested bringing a bottle and the pot. No need to suffer while waiting. And waiting.

In the big swanky conference room, Sam and I weren't alone. Taking my pose as an invitation, Logan and Jubilee mirrored it by putting their feet on the table too. I'm sure we were a Kodak moment, or the expression on Xavier's face would be. If he ever decided to get here.

Standing by the doorway, as though guarding it, is the big black man Goski described. Can't miss him with that tattoo on his face. Sam whispered to me that his name is Bishop and he's in charge of security. I wanted to question him badly, but he didn't respond to my overtures. If that's the way things were going to be, I'm not going to get far. We'll see.

Suddenly, Logan turned my way, having been unusually quiet before. "Heads up, they're comin'. We'll keep our mouths shut unless we're needed. This is your show."

"Yeah, right." Like I believed that one. Neither Logan or Jubilee are ones to keep their mouths shut once things heat up. I could guarantee things were going to get hot.

"No, I mean it." He grinned at me wolfishly, the way only he could. "We're lookin' forward ta the show, but we'll step in if ya need us to."

A malicious smile lighting her face, Jubilee mockingly gestured to her mouth as though zipping her lips. Can't help but think they discussed this ahead of time because she hasn't said more than a quick greeting since she arrived. I've seen her around at Harry's and Jubilee Logan is known to be a talker. It was probably killing her to keep quiet this long already. Just because I hadn't gotten to know her personally didn't mean I couldn't hear.

With a guy wearing red glasses leading the way - I'm assuming he's Scott Summers - they did finally show up. I was right about Xavier's reaction, his lips clamped down and his fingers gripped the arms of his chair. Priceless. I was loving it and hadn't needed to open my mouth yet.

In what I understand is her customary dress in the form of a bustier, short skirt, and knee-high boots all entirely made of white leather, the ice-bitch starts off by sniping, "Comfortable? Should we get some donuts to go with the coffee?"

Oh, that was soooo Strike Three. No, I hadn't lost count. I only counted stuff that happened face to face. "Do you have some stuffed in your bra? Doesn't look like it, but I suppose you need something to push your breasts up that much."

The murderous expression on her face was everything I wanted it to be. This was going to be so much fun I couldn't stand it.

Unfortunately, Summers puts a halt to that promising beginning by murmuring in a low threatening voice, "Emma."

They all go to the other end of the table, Bishop stepping forward to stand somewhat in the middle between us. Was he protecting them or me? Good luck to him either way. Once they're settled, Summers begins with, "Miss Sanchez-"

"Just Sanchez," I interrupt.

Clearing his throat, he tries again, "Okay, Sanchez-"

"How do you propose to do anything we here cannot?" Xavier speaks up, again interrupting Summers. Poor guy just wasn't having it his way.

"Maybe by doing what should have been done in the first place. But to give you the benefit of the doubt, have you found out anything of importance?" I intentionally kept my tone bland and then paused to take a large sip of my coffee. It was the expensive gourmet kind that cops couldn't afford. Certainly not out of work ex-cops. Excuse me, 'indefinitely suspended' cops. "Mmm, good stuff. Anything at all?"

"We've scarcely had time to do much." There's the indignant tone to Xavier's voice which I hated the first time I talked to him.

I'd say that's a 'no'. Thinking under other circumstances he would have expected me to have the case already solved by now, I couldn't resist pointing out, "You've had two days."

"As you say, but that is not much time with all which needs to be done."

Jubilee rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and Logan snorted, but neither of them actually said anything. Two points to them.

"This is not the sort of misconduct we are accustomed to dealing with," he went on defensively.

"Imagine that." 'Misconduct'? Is that what they're calling it these days? Please. Both my brows shot upward. "And yet you ran off willing help."

"Which is what we wanted to rectify with this meeting," Summers interjected, trying to take control.

"Uh-huh." I'm thinking Summers and the people on my end of the table are the only one's wanting to 'rectify' anything. That's not really true, I don't want to 'rectify' either. All I want is to get the sonuvabitch who felt free to hurt a kid like Sunshine. If that means 'rectifying' anything, then I'll do it. I might even be nice about it. To him.

"To that end, Ms. Sanchez-"

"Just Sanchez," I remind him.

"Ah, yes, Sanchez." Summers again cleared his throat. It was becoming a habit. "To that end-"

"There are a few conditions you must agree to before I allow you access to my school and my students." Xavier's newest interruption caused Summers to sit back with a sigh of resignation. "We are to be kept fully informed of every step you take."

"Uh-huh." Rather than agreeing, my answer is noncommital if not implying refusal altogether. Though I have to wonder if he's being literal or figurative. Doesn't matter, I'm not having it either way.

"In no way whatsoever are you to feel free to wander wherever you please and I want to know what you are doing at all times."

"Uh-huh." Well, there's the answer to that question. It's both. What's he afraid I'm going to see? It's not like I have any interest in anything they're doing. Unless they're running a drug ring in the basement, don't think I could overlook that. Though Logan has his own moral code, I trust his judgement. Didn't this guy pay any attention when told I'm a friend of Logan's? Does he listen to anything he's told? Or does he not get what that means?

"Classes are NOT to be interrupted, I won't have it. Any discussions or questions you have for students or teachers will be supervised. My preference is that you pass your questions along and we will get the answers to you without you coming into contact with them."

"Uh-huh." Maybe the drug ring idea wasn't too far off. This guy had to be on something if he thought that would work. Answers to questions are only half of an interrogation - excuse me again, the word should be 'interview'. How they give those answers and their reaction to the questions is more important than the questions themselves most of the time. So he could 'prefer' all he wanted, it just wasn't going to happen that way.

"You don't appear to be taking this seriously." Folding his hands, the man gave me a stern look projecting authority out the ass. Someone should have told him that was the wrong road to take with me.

Do ya think he figured out I was beginning to ignore him? I suppose it's possible he saw something right under his nose. Anything is possible. "Serious? It all sounds like a joke to me."

"If that is going to be your attitude, I'm sure we can do without your assistance."

Attitude? He thinks this is attitude then he's never seen it. And what the hell is it that he thinks he's giving me if not attitude? Enough is enough. I'd love to lay into this guy and show him what he's been missing but we're on Sunshine's time. I want to get busy more than I want to teach the teacher. Besides which, me being the bigger person might tick him off more. "Look, you don't like me, I get that. I don't like you either. Just assign someone to me who's up to date on the situation and we can stay out of each other's  
way."

Summer's relief was clear as he jumped right on that. "Sounds like a good idea. How about-"

"I'm not convinced you have the sensitivity necessary to even be on the property." Ice-bitch felt the need to interrupt this time. I'm starting to feel a little sorry for Summers. Just a little. "There are a number of telepaths in the student body your presence might upset."

"You've got to be kidding me." Oops! Did I say that out loud? Guess so by the way they're both glaring at me.

"Miss Sanchez, the students in my school have been maligned by your kind enough. I will not have them believe they are not safe here." Xavier was sitting straight as a board, his posture unbending. "Their peace of mind is to be preserved at all costs."

"Oh, c'mon! You're worried about me just being here when you've got a rapist on your campus?"

The look Frost shot me was triumphant as she leaned into Summers, practically shoving her 'assets' in his face. "Do you see, darling? She's like the others, on a witch-hunt to find a mutant to blame for the crime. If for no other reason than revenge because she blames us for losing her job."

"Revenge?" My eyes didn't narrow, instead became as hard as I bet her heart is. "You think I'm here for revenge? Listen, bitch, if I wanted to slap back at you assholes, I wouldn't be here at all!"

"I don't see _any _reason for you to be here." There was a definite sneer was in her voice.

"You wouldn't. There's a sixteen year old girl in the hospital and while we sit here with our thumbs up YOUR asses she could die at any time!" Screw being the bigger person and screw them! "I was on the beat for six years and have been a detective for two and you'd never seen me before Sunshine was hurt! I've never come here and gotten in your face trying to pin anything on your people! Don't try to lump me with those lazy bastards!"

Don't remember setting down my coffee cup, don't remember standing. Somehow, I was on my feet, hands braced on the table as I shouted down it. "You don't like the normal steps of an investigation, you just wait 'til she's dead! Once she is you'll know the meaning of 'witch-hunt'! Did you think they'd just ignore Sunshine's death because she's a mutant? Hell, no! While you try to  
forget she was ever here, the very kind of people you're trying to keep out are waiting for her to die so they have an excuse to come in! Hell, they'll love having what they'll call a legitimate reason to tear this place down brick by brick! Which is just what they'll have when the charges change to murder!"

Something in there must have really gotten their attention because not only were all eyes on me but Xavier had turned pale. "No one said anything about murder."

"What the hell do you think it'll be when Sunshine's dead?" I demanded. "Right now it's rape and assault, once she's gone it's murder!"

Beside me, Logan also stood and I knew he was about to put his two cents in.

"Butt out, Logan!" I wasn't nearly done having my say. These people with their supercilious attitude had finally pushed the wrong button. I was going to let it aaaallll out. "Sensitive! You want to talk about sensitive? Oh, you people are just soooo sensitive! Sunshine's lying in a hospital bed! She's alone and will die! Did you not get that? Wait! I forgot! You don't care!" My fists slam down on the table, making the mug rattle. "I did some checking and she's lived here three and a half years and you don't fucking CARE!"

"You have no idea what I care about and how much." Frost's eyes weren't cold anymore, they were as hot as my temper. "The welfare of all the students here is my highest priority. You have no idea the effect you could have on the younger telepaths-"

"I'm not stupid!" I didn't hesitate to cut her off as I pounded the table again. It's well known there are ways to 'shield' rooms from and for mutants with special mind powers. "There are ways to protect your mind-readers!" One part of my brain is noticing Summers, Xavier, and Logan are talking on the side, but it's a far off part of me right now. "By going the way you are you're protecting a rapist and eventual murderer from getting what they deserve!"

"Don't you mean a 'mutant'?" She's standing too and her volume rises to my level. "I won't have the student's peace of mind sacrificed on your say so!"

"You don't want to upset them?" Now, I know these are kids in this school, but they're mostly teenagers. They get 'upset' at the drop of a hat. A teen's life is full of drama. And these are _mutant _teens. Jubilee has joined the men's discussion and is making gestures in my direction. "Did you even once stop to think that by telling your students that you could be protecting them? Don't you think by knowing they could be on their guard?"

"They don't need to be on guard!" I'm sure Ice-Bitch is going to froth at the mouth any second now. "That's what we're for!"

"You can't protect them from everything! Do you want this to happen again?! Wasn't Sunshine bad enough?! Fuck you!" I've been wanting to say that since they walked in the room, yelling it down a table that looks like it cost more that I made in a year feels damn good. "You want your students to have peace of mind then you tell them whats going on! You let them know there's a problem and it's being taken care of! You let the sonuvabitch know you're onto him and his days are numbered! He'll either run and show  
himself or he'll still be here to be caught!"

They must have come to some sort of agreement during their side talk because Summers is trying to get Frost's attention and Sam is doing his best to do the same with me. Neither of us are done yet though.

"That's it, right there! You aren't even going to look outside this school for the culprit!" She holds off Summers while looking like she's going to start crawling up the table and come after me.

"Sanchez!" Vaguely, I hear Logan calling me but I ignore him.

"She lived _here_! She went to school _here_! From the length of time she was in the water, she had to have been dumped in the river from this property! _Here_!" Maybe I hadn't said it but I did get a report from the responding officers who questioned the paramedics. Sunshine was found very close to where the park's boundary begins and Xavier's ends. "She was most likely attacked _here_! Whether human or mutant, whoever did it has contact with _here_! Any investigation has to start _here_! Why can't you get that?!"

Emma Frost didn't look like she was going to let that go either. I'm sure she had some sort of reply to my logic. She just didn't get to voice it. Logan didn't give her a chance.

With a volume high enough to be heard even over mine, he shouted the one thing guaranteed to make me hear him. "_**Hortensia Tranquilina Panfila Ernestina Ysenia Sanchez!**_"

To be honest, I'm not completely sure the room actually went silent. I didn't hear anything but my own name ringing in my ears. For a full thirty seconds, nothing else got through to my brain. This was a betrayal on a level which I would never have expected of Logan. Not only had he said... IT... he even had the accent right, using the correct pronunciation. He knows how I feel! Who wouldn't feel that way if they had names like mine? Being punched out would have been better, more forgivable.

To say I didn't think about what I did next would have been a lie. If I hadn't thought about it then I wouldn't have been successful. But I didn't have to think too hard because I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve.

Snatching my cup from the table, I tossed the contents in his face. While Logan was wiping the coffee from his eyes, I threw the cup at him. And while he was batting the cup away, the toe of my boots was connecting with his crotch with as much strength behind it as I could possibly manage. Logan's stuttered groan of pain was almost as satisfying as telling off Frost and Xavier. When you consider his offense and that I've been wanting to hurt someone for two days, that's saying a lot. It was worth wasting the coffee.

This time I can say there was a stunned silence. Except for Logan's gasping and occasional moan. Did I mention my boots are steel-toed?

Once he was starting to breathe properly, I threatened coldly, "If that leaves this room, you won't see it coming."

Summers, Xavier, and Frost were looking at me like I'd grown a second head. Hadn't they ever seen a woman kick a man in the balls before? And if I had grown an extra body part, isn't that the sort of thing that happens in this place? What was the big deal?

About that time is when Bishop came back. I'd been so busy with Frost I hadn't realized he'd left. First Goski sneaks up on me, then a guy big enough to be mistaken for a wall disappears without me knowing it. I gotta work on my skills. He places a what is obviously a logbook in the center of the table and leaves as quietly as he'd come.

"You may examine it as much as you like." My eyes become glued to Xavier's at this about face. "Students and staff will be available to you as necessary. However, I do ask that you take classes into consideration. Sam and Jubilee have volunteered to assist you. If you need anything, simply send one of them to either myself or Emma, or you can speak to Scott." He hesitates as though wanting to say something more, but instead wheels himself out. Frost glares at me as she stalks after him, followed by Summers who just nods.

There had been a change in Xavier during his short speech. A bit of a slump to his shoulders, a slackness to his fingers, a little something to his eyes, and a new tension at the same time. The fight had gone out of him, he'd given in. Or that's what he thought. You'd think I'd be happy about it, but you'd be wrong. I guess what I'd wanted was for him to understand I wasn't his enemy. The perp is. No matter the hassles people might go through, the perp is the reason and should have the blame. I'd learned long ago that it's the cop who gets blamed because we're the ones at the front, meaning me. I'd wanted this time to be different and it wasn't. I'll take what I can get.

Glancing at Sam and Jubilee, I sigh. "One of you can show me to Sunshine's room, along the way we'll need to grab me a pad and pen so I can take notes. The other will need to find a place where we can do interviews, we'll start with the people closest to her first."

"I'll find yah somewhere," Sam promises, adding, "Ma'am."

"I know there's extra supplies in the front office, I'll get what you need." Jubilee's eyes have been on Logan since I'd kicked him. She doesn't seem to be holding a grudge. "And I know her pretty well. You might want me to be your first interview and I'll give you the names of others you'll want to talk to."

"Alright, let's get moving. We're on Sunshine's time." We all three head for the door, but I stop at the threshold to look at Logan leaning against the wall. "Once your balls drop back down, maybe you can find where Sunshine was thrown in the river. It's always best to locate the crime scene."

to be continued.

* * *

note: Was that all you might have hoped? This chapter flowed very well when I wrote it way back a while ago. I had gotten all the way to when Bishop 'returned' when it was "LOST" (yes, I'm still bitter about that). Be happy this one chapter was "found" as what I had been writing to replace it wasn't nearly as good. 

Unfortunately, I have not yet finished chapter 7. I'm only about half-way finished and I might be a little stuck. Not badly, I have to work on it though, it's just not... right. Since a couple of important things are happening, it HAS to be _right_. So it might be a little while. Sorry. However, I will be posting the next chapter of "What Might Have Been" for those interested.

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	7. Chapter 7

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine**  
by Dizi

Chapter 7

"Alright, I gotta know." Jubilee and I had gone up two flights of stairs and were now walking down what seemed to be an endless hallway. We hadn't spoken more than necessary so far, both of us probably thinking too much. Never a good thing, unless you were thinking about a case. Which I hadn't been. Gotta get rid of the distractions. "How come you're not pissed off at me? It was your husband I did my best to permanently damage."

"You didn't hear what he said before the whole thing happened. It went something like 'I'm gonna pay for this'. He knew you were going to retaliate and chose to do it anyway. His choice, his problem." There was an amusement in her voice I didn't understand. Maybe it showed. "Look, I know about you and Logan, okay? He's straight up with me and we go to Harry's enough that I've heard, like, LOTS about Detective Sanchez and her no first name policy. It's not like he won't heal even if you'd cut off that favorite body part of his. I understand, Sanchez, I get it, we're cool."

I've said I knew about Jubilee. Logan had talked about her and I think I knew he was in love with her before he did. Jenny spoke about her casually, like a friend. Even Harry mentioned her once or twice. But I guess I didn't know enough because I expected her to be possessive and very not happy with a woman who'd slept with her man, not to mention kicked him in the gonads. "I just don't get it."

"Well, geez! Think about it, why doncha! If I threw a fit every time I met a woman Wolvie'd screwed I'd never stop. Same thing for when he gets hurt. We're not the type to run from danger and he _heals_. I can't worry about him all the time and stay sane. This is more important."

Suppose there are things you learn to deal with when married to a man like Logan. Since I'd never wanted to get married, much less to Logan, I never thought of it like that. Live and learn.

"These are the smaller single bedrooms for students." Jubilee stopped in front of one that didn't look any different from the others. "And this one's Sunshine's"

After she opened the door, my first thought was '_This_ is the bedroom of a teenager?' By almost anyone's standards--and you need to remember mine is pretty low--it was immaculate. The bed was made without a wrinkle, not one piece of clothing was on the floor, not a speck of dust was anywhere I could see. Even the text books on the small desk were neatly stacked. But that wasn't all. There was no posters or pictures on the wall, no hairbrush on the dresser, and no make-up in any of the obvious places. Nothing in this room gave any details of the person living in it. It was damn unnatural.

"Please tell me Sunshine is an obsessive-compulsive neatnik." Not for once did I believe that was it.

"Um, well... she's what I'd call tidy," Jubilee answered uncertainly.

Rounding on her, I demanded, "Do you call _this _'tidy'?" It wasn't her fault though, and I knew it. I can see Jubilee is just as surprised as I am, it's written all over her face. I'm still a little tense and I shouldn't take it out on her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'd say someone got here before us. Three guesses who and the first two don't count."

"I can't believe Emma..." She closed her eyes, shook her head. "Yes, I can."

"Probably I made a mistake telling them that her room would need to be processed. We're not going to get anything from here, dammit." But I went further inside anyway. If you can believe it, the books on the desk are stacked by size. Advanced Trig, French, one on plants - whadayacallit, Horticulture? - what looked to be English-Lit, and a biography of Shakespeare, mostly standard text books except for the last. "What kind of housekeeper was she, do you know? Would she have made her bed every morning?"

"Definitely. Sunshine took care of her area and was excited to get her own room because her last roommate was a slob, totally."

"I'll need a name and she'll go on the interview list." Jubilee had given me a legal pad before we started our hike. Page one would have all the people I needed to talk to. While Jubilee watched closely, I was writing down questions to pass along to Frost. 'Was the bed made?' would tell me if she'd even gotten to bed that night. 'What personal items were sitting out?' and 'Had there been any papers, notes, or a diary?' could tell me all kinds of things, obviously.

Shrugging an apology, she paced a bit. "Sorry, but she's not here anymore. Many students only stick around long enough to get a handle on their powers. Cassie was a low-level teke--that's telekinetic--and she left six months ago."

Which meant Cassie probably wouldn't be much help if I managed to locate her, but I'd keep the option open just in case. "What about teachers, Sunshine have a favorite?"

"Ororo Munroe, she's called Storm because she can control the weather." Jubilee went to the desk, picked up the book on plants. "Sunshine almost idolized her. When her parents drop-kicked her here, she didn't take it well. Ororo and her plants... soothed her pain, 'Ro's good at that. When she wasn't studying, Sunshine was working in the gardens or the conservatory."

She slowly closed the book and gently placed it back on the stack, squeezing her eyes closed. I hoped like hell she wasn't going to cry. I wouldn't know how to help her if she did. Oh, I could say all the right things, pat her on the back, but it never felt right and didn't really help. There aren't any right words to say when someone you know is going to die. Learned that my first month on the beat.

"God, this is hard. It's like... she's not here any more." As I watched she pulled herself together. Not surprising, she's got to be tough to meet Logan's standards long-term. "Another favorite is Remy LeBeau, Gambit--don't ask why he's called that, I don't know. Teaches French since he's from New Orleans and has been speaking it from birth. Not sure if he'd know anything, all the girls like him and take his class."

Her brief description clicks to a memory. LeBeau is another regular at Harry's. Popular with the women, I could see why the female students liked him. I'd bet he knew it too. As he might've noticed something, he went on the list. Actually all her current teachers would make the list, these two just went to the top.

"Okay, last question for now. Friends and enemies." This was most important. Teenage girls would tell their friends things they wouldn't tell an adult. No matter how well Jubilee knew Sunshine, she was still an adult. It was more than possible she hadn't told Jubilee everything that went on in her life. Enemies would give me a place to start looking for the perp.

Scrunching her forehead, she gave the question the consideration it deserved as she sat on the bed. "Enemies, none come to mind. Sunshine wasn't..." Jubilee paused, swallowed, "_isn't _the kind to make many of either one. Kinda quiet, not really shy but not very outgoing. The only real friend I know of is MaryJo. They bonded quick, studied together a lot."

MaryJo just made the number one top spot. I should immediately grab her from class and start getting as many answers as I could. Instead, I sit beside Jubilee and stare at the blank walls. My knowledge of Sunshine has grown, every detail will add to the picture, but I still don't know much about her. I needed to. Marian Jessup was more than a mutant girl who had been raped and assaulted. To determine a suspect, a good detective got to know the victim. And I wanted to know who Sunshine was. It was important to me personally. "Tell me about her."

"She's a telepath. Not as strong as Charles and Emma, but more than average. MaryJo has to use her powers more than anyone else I know. She doesn't talk at all, only 'paths." Jubilee made it sound like nothing unusual.

Not what I was asking but pertinent information. Sounded like it could be a problem. I know very little about telepathy, mainly that it has to do with reading minds. To communicate didn't both parties have to have some ability if she's not very strong? "Will I need to have pen and paper available for her? Can she... what did you say? 'Path' to me?"

"Oh, sure. MaryJo can send and receive short range." She waved her hand in a blasé manner. "As long as you're in the same room she can make herself heard. More important, now she can block out everyone else's thoughts so she's not invading the privacy of everybody she meets. It took her a long time to learn that."

"Ooooo-kay. Good to know." It might be common place to her, but stuff like this would take some getting used to for me. Feeling a little out of my depth here. To get through, I have to think in simple terms. The perp--whether mutant or not--is a person. A person has motives. That's what I need. To find it I have to know the victim. Now I'm back where I was before. "What I meant was, tell me about Sunshine. Everything you know about her I want to know too."

"Sorry, I didn't realize we changed the subject."

"_Es nada_, I should've been specific." She had that look on her face again. It's not easy for everyone to talk about someone who's in Sunshine's situation. I can sympathize but I can't let her off the hook. A nudge might be in order. "I know she's been in this place over three years. Did you meet her when she first arrived?"

"Uh, yes and no. I was here but a little self-absorbed at the time." Flushing, she looked down at her hands gripped tight in her lap. Body language again. It hadn't been a good time for Jubilee. "Just out of college and I was trying to get Wolvie's attention. Logan and I were... well, we weren't then. Nobody else got on my radar. I left again and ended up coming back with Wolvie more able to deal, ya know? That's when I got to know Sunshine. She'd been here about two years by then, she'd adjusted to life at Xavier's. It's not easy for everyone to make the transition to a place like this."

I'd think that would be an understatement. People new to Salem Center often have to get used to the idea of a school for mutants being 'up the hill', as they put it. Living in a place with very few, if any, regular humans would be a major adjustment, I assume.

"Kids like her with physical mutations have it hard. There's an ongoing debate whether it's worse to be born that way or suddenly change at puberty. Sunshine was 'normal' until a few weeks before she was bused here. Charles would have sprung for a plane ticket or sent one of us to pick her up but her parents refused, said they'd take care of it. No one knew they meant immediately until she showed up in a taxi at the gate. She didn't even have enough money to pay the entire fare."

In my head, I understand there are people who turn their backs on their kids. It happens all the time, we've all heard the stories. As a cop, I saw it too many times. In my heart, I have trouble grasping it. Including me, my parents have fourteen children. We know they'd either kill or die for any of us, that's what family means. Mama and Poppi don't get me but they love me. How some parents can just turn off love for their child is alien, but something I had to learn to accept in my line of work. Sure as hell don't like hearing about it though. Ever.

"Emma told me not to, but I called her parents, told them what happened to Sunshine. They were polite, that's the nicest thing I can say. Made it clear they have two normal children and don't want to know about their reject. Her father works in a bank in a small town. She was an embarrassment to them."

She looked up at me, suddenly fierce. Her blue eyes seemed brighter than earlier and I could swear sparks shimmered in the air around her. "You want to know what Sunshine was like? She was _nice_! She was _smart_, a straight A student if she studied. She was the kind that would have been Ms. Popular in a regular High School if she was normal. She would have joined the cheerleaders and dated a jock, she would have become a housewife and been happy doing it. If she hadn't turned yellow when she was twelve and a half, that is."

An image was forming in my head, incomplete but there. Not of who Sunshine was, who she could have been. Both play into the person she was. All information is pertinent. I'd never considered how someone's life changes when they find out they're a mutant. A kid just turning into a teenager, one of the most uncertain times in anyone's life when their body is changing, hormones are raging, just learning about peer pressure, the opposite sex becoming interesting, their future a great unknown looming ahead; then they suddenly become something else again. Could I have handled it? Not sure, probably not if my parents had turned against me. Which mine wouldn't.

"Becoming a mutant didn't even do anything for her but take away the life she knew, she had no powers." Calming down, Jubilee took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Some of that I got from 'Ro and some Sunshine told me over time. She'd adjusted but not forgotten, it still hurt her. I said she idolized 'Ro not that she was close to her, she didn't become a surrogate mother or anything like that. It was more that Sunshine... absorbed all 'Ro taught her. Plants won't turn their back on you or make fun of you."

Ah, a possible lead! "Make fun of her? Who?"

"She never said, always blew it off. Had to bother her though." Blowing a stray hair out of her eyes, she leaned back. "All groups of kids find something to pick on others about. Like I said, Sunshine had no powers while most everyone else here does. She was a target, that's the way it was. I got the feeling she'd learned to deal with that too. Might've been different if she'd been more outgoing, made more friends, had a boyfriend. She was pretty enough to attract attention even wearing minimal make-up. Very feminine in her way, always wore dresses. I tried to encourage her to look at the guys more, but she was focused on learning all about the plants and flowers. She'd have made a great botanist. I was going to talk to Warren or Emma about giving her start up money to open a flowershop or greenhouse when she graduated. She'd have been so totally into it."

No way on Earth would it be possible for me to really know Sunshine, only about her. Now I know more that added to the picture that was her. I could conjure up an image of the pretty yellow girl in a sundress tending a potted plant. I could practically see it. I wish I had instead of seeing her only in a hospital bed. From what I just heard, Sunshine was keeping everyone away, mostly, through those plants. Who could blame her? Everyone deals in their own way, she'd found hers. Whether she'd realized it or not, Sunshine had slowly developed a new life at Xaviers, a future for herself. They'd at least given that to her. And someone had viciously taken it away. Everything I hear makes me want to find the bastard even more. His future deserves to be locked up behind bars for the majority of his life.

"Hey, Kentucky, did you finish your first assignment?" Jubilee's forced cheerfulness brings me back to the here and now. "Sanchez has, like, a whole list of people to rake over."

Sam's in the hall watching us. From his expression, it's safe to say he's been there long enough to have heard at least some of what Jubilee said. His eyes are haunted, the same way they were in the waiting room last night. Beginning to think my head isn't going to be straight until after this case is closed, I should have been paying enough attention to know the instant he arrived.

"Got the small teacher's room near the class wing," he answered, shifting his feet. "It's already got shieldin'. Ah thought yah would appreciate that, Ma'am, after the meetin'. Added privacy an' all."

As he straightens his back and slides his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, I'm reminded of other events of last night. Was it only last night? I shouldn't go there, I'm on the job and it's a bad idea to get involved with anyone connected to a case. Always a bad idea. Very bad. One night of great sex, which I don't even really remember very well, does _not _make involvement. I don't get involved, I screw men and send them on their way. That's the way I like it. That's what I want. I don't have time for that kind of thing. I have to stay focused on Sunshine and catching the perp.

Back to business. The room's 'shielded'? As in for telepaths? Such as the Ice Bitch? Makes sense, Frost isn't the kind to take a step back. Oh, but what about... "Hold on. How will that affect MaryJo?"

"No worries, she'll be fine." Jubilee spoke up, not Sam. Oops, forgot she was there for a second. "Shielded rooms keep stray thoughts in and others out, not block powers altogether. Like sound proofing for the brain."

"Okay, great. Good job, Sam." Lots to learn around here and I'm behind. Need to move things along. Tearing the second page off the pad, I hold it out to Jubilee. "See if you can get some of the answers to these questions from Frost, then meet us in the interview room with MaryJo. I figure you're not on her hit list, so you get this job. "

"Whatever. Remember, I volunteered to help you." She took the paper, standing with a grimace. "But I've been around Frosty enough that I know how to get my way. Most of the time."

"Do your best. As an added incentive, after you're done you can take a break to track down your husband and make sure his parts are in working order." I didn't want to give her the wrong impression here, I don't forgive and forget. "Because I like you, he's not off _my _hit list yet."

"Gotcha."

She's off like a shot. I'm a little slower on the uptake, lots to take in. Distraction is a bitch who's ass I can't kick. My attention doesn't need to be divided, that's a debate I've already had with myself. But something in me won't let me ignore the look in Sam's eyes. "You okay?"

"Ah'll be alright," was all he'd admit to.

I should drop it. I want to drop it. It would be best if I just dropped it. However, in a way, Sam is now my partner. Kinda. Him and Jubilee both, I guess. So what if that's an excuse? Instead of dropping it, I decide to wait him out. Sam isn't like me, he'll talk if I give him a chance. It doesn't take long.

"Guess Ah just don't like it."

"Which part?" That was just a little bit sarcastic. Not much I've heard so far has many good points.

"This ain't supposed tah be a dumping ground for the kids people don't want." Hanging his head, Sam eases down beside me on the bed. "Ah know there are kids whose parents don't want 'em 'cause they're mutants, but we're supposed tah make it bettah for 'em, give 'em opportunities they didn't have before. It don't sound like we done that for Sunshine. Now Ah'm wonderin' who else we missed."

"Well..." My understanding is there are a couple hundred kids in Xavier's at any given time. Probably many are getting 'missed'. But that's not going to reassure him, is it? "Maybe she wasn't really missed. Jubilee was going to get her financial backing, and she did learn a trade, sort of. Sounds like she had some issues and it took her a long time to deal with them."

He nods, though not like I was helping.

"An' if she lives? Will she evah be able to even do what she wanted tah?" He's not looking at me, his head still hanging down.

That's a good thing. He must not have understood the reality of her condition. "Sam... Sunshine isn't going to get better. She _will _die. You need to come to terms with that. She's as good as dead already even if she's still laying in a hospital bed. When we find this perp, it's with the understanding that he's a murderer."

He jerks his whole body like I hit him and I look away. Was I too blunt? Should I have softened it somehow? Damn, I'm no good at this kind of thing. I couldn't let him go on thinking that way. She is going to die. It's going to happen. There is no saving Sunshine. Only getting justice for her. I believe in justice, I have to. What's the point otherwise? Perpetrators have to pay for their crimes.

"Yah just did it again." He's turned to look up at me, his back bent over his knees. "Ah wish Ah could do that."

Now he's not making sense. "Do what?"

"Yah care, Ah can see yah do, but yah push it aside. You'll be thinkin' 'bout her, 'bout Sunshine, an' ever'thang 'bout yah will be soft. Then yah flip a switch in yore head an' yah change, gettin' hard as steel. Ah can see it," he repeats. "But Ah can't do it, an' Ah wish Ah could."

Again, was it only last night we met? He's seeing into me. That's exactly what I feel as I go back and forth between Sunshine and the perp. It's why I would've burned out at some point, living an emotional rollercoaster not even my own as I sympathize too much with the victim. Might not be such a good thing that I'm so open to him. No matter how good it feels to be understood. He doesn't need to know that though.

"I can't help how I feel about Sunshine, we've already talked about that. On the other hand, I can't let myself be soft when it comes to her assailant. I had to learn to keep the vic and perp separate to do my job." And it was a hard lesson as I found myself sympathizing with both at times. "It's not easy and I don't recommend it to anyone. Most cops don't connect to the vic, or don't want to let themselves, because it's too hard to be either way at any given moment. Not and still be able to do the job." Sighing, I have to admit the truth to him. "This isn't the first time I've cared too much for a victim. I was on the edge of burnout when this case came along to me."

"It's lucky for us yah didn't an' that yah got Sunshine's case, lucky yah care so much." He's wrong, Sam can change pretty quickly too. It was a damn quick change from a haunted eyed young man to a determined and assured one. "You're gonna find him, Ma'am. You're gonna find him an' put him away where he cain't hurt no one else."

"Damn right I will." Oh, he's good. And he's hot. God, he's so freaking hot right now! Looking at me as though I'm going to go out and right all the wrongs and fix the world. Which we both know isn't going to happen, but I _will _catch this bastard. One way or the other. He's made me feel good, strong and capable. I haven't felt that way for some time now. Sam did that for me.

Here in this room belonging to a girl waiting to die, I lean over to close the distance between us. I kiss him with all the sexual hunger he keeps stirring inside me. Being a guy, he responds instantly. I've wanted those large workman's hands on me and he doesn't disappoint. My shirt is untucked from my jeans within seconds, those hands roaming up my back...

Before it gets out of hand--pun intended--with both of us almost breathless, I push him away and stand up. I'll admit I was a little wobbly on my feet.

"Let's go do what we can to find the bastard." This isn't playtime after all. Heading for the door, I smile at him in a way that lets him know I wasn't teasing. "And later tonight we'll play with my handcuffs."

"Yes, Ma'am." He managed to make it a promise along with agreement. Oh, he got the message loud and clear.

So, okay, distractions are a bitch. I can live with certain ones. And sex still doesn't mean involvement. I'm just going to enjoy my job perk. Nothing wrong with that, right?

to be continued.

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note: Well, we got lots of info on Sunshine, not too much on the bad guy. Sanchez is doing her thing. There's lots I could say but I don't want to give anything away. And we did get another OC from one of my other stories. Most of you will know who she is, but I'll see who can guess first. I like that part. The guessing and having characters from other stories. It's like seeing an old friend.

Next chapter will be in two weeks. I haven't actually gotten it back from my beta yet, so that's assuming she can get it to me in time. She's a teacher and the school year is just ending where she is.

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	8. Chapter 8

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine**  
by Dizi

Chapter 8

The halls being full of kids was a surprise, there hadn't been a bell to signal change of class. It was interesting, they were interesting. Being an observer instead of involved with them allowed me to see interactions someone might otherwise miss, or might not pick up on. If you think about it, any place with a fairly large group of people tends to revert to a High School type of environment complete with 'clicks'. Guess what? This _is _a High School.

At first glance, the groupings are the same as in a normal school: age, wealth, jocks, geeks, ethnicity, and so on, with overlaps and exceptions.

Now I could be a little sensitive having just heard about Sunshine's issues. It's possible. I mean, I don't know any of these kids, I don't even really know Sunshine. I would swear I was seeing a trend which indicated there were other levels to the clicks here. As I don't know the kids or the environment, I'm guessing there are many nuances to be had between mutants kids. The one I was seeing though, the one seemingly dealing with the lowest level, concerned the ones with physical mutations.

They're easy to spot. They're the mutants that stand out in a crowd, and the halls are full. Without trying, I notice several deferring to the more "normal" appearing students. They hang back, not talking much to anyone and few talking to them. Oh, not all of them, but the majority. Were they ashamed? Embarrassed by their physical differences? Made to feel that way by their peer group? Possibly I was seeing things that weren't there. I doubt it, but hope so.

Another possibility--and I don't like even the thought of this one--was that Xavier and Frost had a point about my 'mere presence', although they were referring to the telepaths being traumatized. Jubilee said kids with physical mutations had it hard and I'm a stranger they couldn't be sure about. Were they backing away, attempting to keep from drawing attention to themselves, because they were afraid of how I would react? It's a sobering thought.

As it makes more sense combined with what I've already heard, I'm sticking with my original theory: The less powerful mutants who look different are the lowest of the low on the step ladder which is Xavier's School for the Gifted. Differences being a common prejudice throughout the world, why should the mutants here behave any other way than the rest of humanity? Just because they're mutants? Yeah, right.

Sam and I had to make our way down the long hallway where Sunshine's bedroom was, down two flights of stairs, through the front entrance hall, then to another hall in the 'classroom wing'. Let's see, that's three halls and two stairs; these kids don't need P.E. to get exercise. During the trip, I saw a number of kids that stood out. I'll admit to a certain amount of fascinated interest. Not the car crash "Oh my God, it's so horrible I have to look" kind of thing, not revulsion. I didn't stare, but I was interested and looked at them. I promise, if you see a person with tentacles instead of legs, a second look is flat out necessary. It can't be helped, has to be done. I did my best to be circumspect about it.

But Tentacle Boy caught me the second time. Okay, yes, the descriptive name I put to him in my mind would be kinda rude, but I don't have a name for him. When he noticed me, he clutched a book to his side, turned his whole body away, and ducked his head. It's a classic move of the wary individual. Question was, did he do it because _I _had been looking at him or because _anyone _had? I really wanted to know.

Actually, seeing him inspired several questions. I tend to be curious which creates many of the distractions I hate so much. Was he born that way or did he recently change? If that answer was the second option, had he instinctively known how to use those tentacles or have to learn? Initially, were they strong enough to hold him up like that? How much could he do with them? I seriously doubt he'd like it if I came up to him and asked these questions, can't help wondering though. A whole new world of curiosity has been opened to me with this case. Not that he's part of my case. I'll most likely never talk to him at all.

Then weight is given to my theory by a group making their way through the class wing, thankfully interrupting my newest distraction. These are the cream of the crop. Athletic build, hair they probably spend a lot of time on, and by the designer clothes they have MONEY. They strut like they own the place, obviously thinking they're hot shit. I dare one of them to get in my face. However, the important observation is the way the other student react to them. _Everyone _gets out of their way to let them pass easily. Whatever their appearance, all the students move.

That's when it happens. My internal warning system sends out a signal. Since I've learned over the years to pay attention to it, I look at the group more closely. A boy in the middle raises his head at just that same instant. For maybe three seconds, we're staring directly at each other.

Those seconds were so intense, I somehow expected all the people around me to have witnessed it. Nope. Nothing really to see by their perspective. It was all on me. Throughout the entire trek I'd kept a carefully impassive expression on my face. There was absolutely no emotion to be seen. Not so with this teenage boy. 'Malevolent' is the right word, I think. And it was aimed right at me. I've been a target before. I know how to watch my back. A warning wasn't necessary to tell me to keep my back to the wall with this one, but without the warning the whole thing wouldn't have happened and he wouldn't have hit my radar so fast. He hated _me_. It's kinda the sort of thing I like to know about. Just a personal policy. I got the message.

So many kids wandering around had made the noise level too high for Sam and I to have talked along the way. He was a few feet in front on me, never noticing my short pause. A minute later he opened a door with a fancy brass plaque proclaiming "Teachers Only". Well, I've been known to teach 'lessons' but I don't think they really want me to.

Still wearing the smug expression men get when they know they're going to 'get some', he says, "Ah started some coffee for yah."

Oh, the heavenly scent of rich wonderful coffee. Mmmmmmmm... If I hadn't already promised Sam sexual favors, he would have just earned them. Two feet from the door, I took a moment to bask in it. I didn't get my full moment.

"Yo, it's the cop-lady." The words came from a young African-American male, approximately twelve to fourteen years of age, might come to my shoulder, who has a big mouth. Just what I need. "Whatcha doin' here, huh? Causin' trouble for my kind, cop-lady?"

"No one has to cause trouble for you, punk." Standing straighter, I took on my tough cop stance, sneering at him. Inside I was laughing. "Way I remember it, if there's something going down, you're involved. Why don't we have a little talk."

"You think you can scare me? I got me respect now, got me a name." The kid was putting on his own tough act. "You want to talk to me, you call me 'Replay'."

"Yeah, yeah. You always had a name, _punk_. The one I put on your sheet was 'Antoine'." Taking quick deliberate strides, I clench my hand around the back of his neck and push him towards the open door where Sam is waiting uneasily. "Now get your ass in there, Antoine."

"Ain't got no right to be puttin' your hands on me!" The boy couldn't have been any louder if he'd tried. "No right! Let go a' me!"

Ignoring the outburst, I gave the kid another shove so he was all the way inside.

Sam hadn't interferred but definitely didn't approve of my actions. "Ma'am, Ah'd have tah call that manhandling-"

"Do you have to activate the shielding?" I didn't have time to explain, there were too many eyes on us.

"No, it's turned on with the lights. Ma'am-"

"Good. Just close the door." Yeah, he wasn't happy with me anymore. That changed when he realized Antoine had shut up once out of sight from all those eyes outside. Sam even went to the corner to fill me a cup of coffee while I took a seat in one of the straight backed chairs at the plain wood table across from where Antoine had sprawled in another chair.

"So how's it goin', cop-lady?" Dropping all pretenses, the boy grinned at me. It was a nice change. So was the way he said 'lady'. Outside, he'd made it sound like he wanted to substitute 'bitch', which I wouldn't have minded. Much. Being one and being called one are two different things. "Word is you got trouble."

"You ever see me with trouble I couldn't handle?" My returning smile was genuine. It was good to see him here, know he was improving himself. Some years ago, Antoine had got mixed up with the wrong crowd, the usual gang thing. Cutting out the details, he ended up getting busted for drug posession. He'd been ten and very lucky to get a good enough public defender so he was only in juvie for five months. I'm not going to say I thought he was a good kid, but he was a kid and I wanted him to get a second chance, a real one. The priest who works the homeless shelter is known to help place kids in decent homes, I left it in his hands. Antoine turned out to be a mutant and became one of the Wagner's first foster children. Don't know how good a job they did, he still has a big mouth.

"Never seen you without a badge, cop-lady, so how would I know?" Shrugging, he dropped the subject and moved on. "Word's out you're here about the yellow girl."

Putting a steaming mug in frong to me, Sam started to speak but I held up a hand to stop him. Whatever he had to say, this wasn't the time. "'Yellow girl' has a name too, _Replay_. It's Sunshine, use it."

"Didn't mean nothin' by it. We didn't hang, ya know? Didn't even have lunch at the same time she did. Hardly saw the... Sunshine." He'd caught himself just in time, having heard a clear warning in my voice.

"But you know something." It wasn't a guess. Antoine, or Replay, had put out an effort to make that display. He'd wanted a private chat, we both knew it. "You got words for me?"

"You're alright, cop-lady. Always thought that even when you busted me." He shrugged again. "Yeah, I got words but no names to go with 'em. Word is somebody liked her, a lot, but they didn't want anybody to know it, see? Made fun of her all the time on account of she ain't got no powers. Not in front of any teacher though, they wouldn't go for that."

Sam is a dark cloud beside me. Didn't take telepathy to know he didn't want to believe that sort of thing went on. I can't worry about his feelings right now though, I have to pump my informant. "Go on."

"Yeah, that's not all." He leaned closer. "Somebody said this guy broke down and asked her out, like onna real date, but she said no. My man didn't say what happened after that. I'm thinking he didn't like it and figured you'd wanna know."

"You figured right." This was what I'd hoped to get over many interviews. Antoine was chalk full of information. He'd given me motive. It was a big head start. "So why the scene? If word's out, we'd have found this out eventually."

"Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't." His tone suggested Antoine didn't think we would have. "I got my reasons."

"Which are?"

He hesitated, narrowed his eyes, a little sullen. Underneath, I think he was... embarrassed? "Miss Jenny and Kurt gave me something. This is my way of giving back."

"Yeah?" I take it back, the Wagners did something special with this boy. A few years ago he would never have thought to 'give back' anything. "How?"

"When they took me in, they didn't know I was a mutant, I didn't know yet. They don't care about that kinda thing. You know what I was like, Sanchez, I was a pain in the ass." Antoine grinned unrepentantly. "Still am. They're cool, especially Miss Jenny. They taught me it don't matter where you come from or who your people are, just the kind of person you decide to be. I decided."

They did _damn _good. "And what did you decide?"

"That it doesn't matter if you're human or mutant, how much power you have, how much money you have, or what you look like." Antione was watching me intently, making sure I took in every word. "And I decided I wasn't gonna stand around while this guy uses what he's got to bully people, hurt a pretty girl like Sunshine who never bothered anyone. That ain't what this place is about."

I've been biased, I'll admit it. Xavier and Frost had gotten my back up from the first, I associated those feelings with the school itself. I would have to rearrange my thoughts. Up to a certain point, kids generally see through the bullshit. Antoine thought the school was worth saving and I would believe him. Until now, I didn't really care about saving the school, just catching the perp.

"There's something you're not telling me." Actually there was a lot he wasn't saying. I knew he had the name I needed, he'd said too much not to. Of course, even if he gave it to me I'd need proof, evidence.

"Cop-lady, some things you're not ready for. You got enough." To emphasize he was done, Antoine pushed away from the table. "Just remember when the shit hits the fan who spoke willingly and that sometimes we really can't control our actions."

Sam made it to the door first, holding his hand on the knob and waiting for my nod before opening it for Antoine.

At the last second, I called out softly, "Wait. Scene or no scene, you're in here and someone's going know you talked when I take this line. You gonna be okay?"

"Better than most." He didn't look at me, fidgeted a bit. Body language. He wasn't sure. "Sunshine didn't even have the status of a family who gave a damn and she wasn't anyone's pet. I got connections through the Wagners."

Antoine was gone before I could question him on that. No way was I going to chase him down. He'd given me what he was comfortable with when he'd been raised in a place where it's dangerous to snitch. I'd also read between the lines and knew he was afraid. As he'd stepped forward anyway, I was going to honor his wishes. Right now, I'd trust he could take care of himself and that he did have good reasons for keeping things back.

The coffee wasn't steaming as hard anymore so it was safe to take a large gulp. Then I started writing out my notes. I always begin with details and potential questions, adding thoughts, impressions, and ideas with the concrete. Doing it that way helps me think. I won't forget big things, little details can be something else. Those small details can end up being very important. It took me a few minutes.

After training Frickman for so long, I automatically treated Sam the same way. He's smarter than Frickman though. "What do you think?"

"Couple thangs. You coulda got more outta him and the Professor ain't gonna like the way yah pulled Replay in herah. Neither will Scott." He paused, watching me write. "Why'd yah let him go so easy?"

See? Much smarter. I'd gone easy on him, kid knew it too. "Antoine's our only informant, we need to keep on his good side. If we get nowhere with MaryJo and Sunshine's teachers, we can grab him again later. He'll expect that."

"But he knew who did it!" he protested. "We'd have 'em!"

"He didn't witness the crime, he just knows enough to make a very educated guess." God, I really do love this coffee. My cup is almost empty. "Yeah, he knows, but we need evidence, proof, or it doesn't matter what he knows. Neither the law nor Xavier is going to accept one kid's word that the guy did it. He gave us a direction which we didn't have before."

"Some of what he said was real chatty an' didn't seem so important." His brows drawn together, Sam said it with a note of doubt. Good for him.

I shook my head. "Uh-uh, every word out of his mouth applies to the case. Some went to state of mind for him, Sunshine, and the perp." I'd only taken a quick glance up from the legal pad, I wasn't done. This part was a little more nebulous, mostly conjecture. "I was very interested in the student heirarchy that he gave us."

"Huh?" By his tone, I guess that had gone right by him.

"Power, money, appearance, with a little about outside family thown in, and connections within the school itself. Not necessarily in that order and not really very surprising either." But it was unsubstanciated which is what made it 'conjecture'. If I hadn't been thinking along these lines on the way to this little room, I probably wouldn't have clicked to what Antoine was saying. I looked mournfully at my empty cup, hoping Sam would refill it for me. No such luck, he was too busy being ticked off about something. Oh well, I suppose I can walk four feet to get it myself. "What's wrong now?"

"It ain't supposed tah be that way herah. The whole idea is that we're all alike an' supposed tah help each other, not use such petty reasons tah put some down an' bring others up. That just ain't what the Professor's dream is about. Havin' a... 'heirarchy' perverts what this school stands for." Head high, shoulders back, hands clenched in front of him, Sam is the picture of righteousness.

Honestly, I think it's a little naive. That's just the way I am, I deal with the real world. Looks good on Sam, though. Cup now full, I can take my seat while I carefully decide on my response. I like Sam, don't want to but I do. Like upstairs, I don't want to burst his bubble. "If it makes you feel any better, I think Antoine feels the same way. Listen, it's not that anyone has necessarily had a communication failure while discussing morals. You've got a few hundred kids here. Yes, they're mutants, but they're still kids, and they're doing what kids do. That they've developed these little prejudices and clicks makes me more comfortable because they're acting just like the kids in any other High School, just added a couple extra levels. Everyone gets hung up on the fact that they're mutants but this is a reminder that they _are _human too."

"When Ah first came herah there was just a few of us. We came from all ovah the world, all different ages, different powers, different ways of life, an' we took care of each other." He nodded, more to himself than to me. "That's the way it's supposed tah be."

"I'm sorry but numbers do change things." It's another universal truth: small groups find commonalities and large ones do the opposite. "It's not that bad, and it's even logical. In any school money is a factor, so it is here too. This is also a boarding school. As I understand it, there is always kids at boarding schools with parents who don't care about them, the one's whose parents do care would get some jealousy or envy. In this case, based on what Antoine said, it's a little status. The way someone looks is _always _a point to pick on." Most of this I had already reasoned through as I wrote my notes. It's getting clearer in my mind as I say it out loud. "The mutant factor of this school adds another layer to that one with physical mutations. There aren't as many of them, they are different, and we've already said they're easy targets."

"An' Sunshine was a minus in all them columns," he pointed out, carrying the conversation back to our victim. Yep, much smarter than Frickman. "She didn't make the board at all with powers."

"I'll bet our perp has all these things and more. He's got money, looks, family--probably a one of those 'family names'--high on the power scale, and is under someone's wing." Thanks to Antoine, that was the beginning of my profile on the perp. Definite progress. "I'll take it a step further and guess he's never been denied anything he wanted, or if he was then he wasn't punished for taking it. Possibly in the past he's gotten back at people who got in his way and Sunshine was more of the same on an escalated level. We won't know for sure until we find out more, but I'll bet that's close."

"Yah got all that from a fifteen minute conversation?" Not sure if he was being incredulous or admiring.

"Some of it's guess work, but I'm reading between the lines and all that." I might be reading way too far, but I'm also thinking that once I have some names to work with I'll have Ansley do some background checking to see if there are any like crimes in any of their home towns.

"Yah didn't say nothin' 'bout powers," he rightly points out.

"Well, you kinda have to expect kids at a mutant school will use the amount of power they have as a ranking mechanism." I'd think that would be obvious. "What scares me is, if they're using those powers to bully the other kids while they're in High School, what are they going to be like in the real world?"

"Ma'am, that's a big part of what they're supposed tah learn here. They're not just learnin' _how _to use their powers but also the right an' wrong way tah use 'em." The way Sam said it was defensive, maybe with some more of that righteousness thrown in.

He might be right in theory. From what's been said and what I've guess at, I could argue there had been some failure in that area. I'm not going to rub salt in the wound right now though. Sam has to have figured it out. A subject change is in order. "Shouldn't Jubilee and MaryJo be here by now?"

"Jubes had tah talk to Emma too, don't forget. That could surely take up ah chunk of time. She may've had tah find MaryJo." He glanced at his watch anyway. "Shouldn't be long now, Ma'am."

There was a knock on the door exactly as he finished his sentence. Speak of the devil. Not. Well, kinda. It wasn't them, I knew that. Only Logan can knock on a door in just that way, a closed fisted banging reminiscent of a hammer. Has to do with the metal on his bones. The bastard. He didn't wait for an answer, pushing the door so hard it bounced against the wall.

"Found it!" His chest was puffed up with smug pride. "Wasn't easy. Rained in the night, so no scents. Followed the river ta some tracks leadin' right ta where it had ta go down. Ya got yer crime scene."

"After the ladies get here and we finish the interview, you and I will go on a little field trip then." Once again he's come through for me. Because of that and he is my friend, I'm starting to lean towards forgiving him sometime in the very near future. That bit of leniency is in danger as he heads for the coffee pot I'm feeling a great deal of propriety towards. Especially since my cup is almost empty again. Logan's smart enough to curtail it by snagging my cup on his way. Maybe he knows me a little too well too.

"Saw Jubes on the way, be here any second."

It's not that I don't believe him, I'm just in a hurry. I've made progress in good time but Sunshine doesn't have a lot of time. Actually, that reminds me of something. As I go to the doorway, still with the door standing open, I say, "Sam, new assignment. I need you to go find another phone and call the hospital for an update. We want to make sure Sunshine's hanging in there."

"Yes, ma'am." It speaks of trust that he didn't protest. He trusts I'll tell him everything when he gets back and I trust him to do the check without me. All that is good to have in a partner, even a temporary one, but not something I'm going to dwell on. He's also gotten a very good idea of my feelings for Sunshine, another factor to prompt him to just do it.

Sam walks past me and a minute later I see Jubilee with a young girl at her side. MaryJo can easily be visually classified as a geek. She's got all the characteristics: hair unkempt, clothes for comfort rather than fashion, big glasses, and that somewhat out of sync quality they all have. Sunshine's her friend so the air of sadness is expected but the way it hits me isn't. Is it because she's a telepath? Maybe I'll ask.

I take a few more steps closer to meet them, holding out my hand. "Hi, I'm Sanchez. I've got a few questions for you, MaryJo. Nothing to be nervous about."

The hand that shook mine trembled and the words I heard inside my head were like a shout. '_YES, I-I UNDERSTAND_.'

Jubilee nodded reassuringly to us both.

And I suddenly felt the need to duck. But there was no one else in the hall now. My hand automatically reached for a gun that wasn't there. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

At my side, MaryJo's eyes went wide as saucers under fancy cups. She reached for me, I heard her shout echo through my head, '_**NOOOOOOOOOO**_...!!'

_'...NOOOOOOOO...!'_

'...nooooo...'

to be continued.

* * *

note: Weren't expecting that, were you? Not sure exactly what happened, are you? That's okay, Sanchez wasn't expecting it and has no clue either. You'll find out in the next chapter. 

As some of you guessed, MaryJo is from "A Moment In Time". If you haven't read it and want to know about her, there ya go. Antione/Replay is new so don't bother looking for him. I've said in previous stories that I can see Jenny and Kurt having many foster kids and he's one of them. In other stories there will be more but I think he's it for this one.

Next chapter will definitely be on time. I'm still going to wait the usual two weeks to post it because I want to have chapter 10 done, but chapter 9 will be here in two weeks from today.

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	9. Chapter 9

_**IMPORTANT!!** There was a change made to the end of chapter 8 which people who have already read the chapter may want to see. Unfortunately I did not notice for a couple days that the formatting I had used did not show up (in the same way that not all symbols are allowed by ffn). I have made the appropriate corrections and apologize for the problem._

* * *

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine**  
by Dizi

Chapter 9

Before my eyes were open, my hand came up to block a hypodermic needle. Like most everyone else, I really hate needles. For me, that's especially true when I have no idea what's in it. The sudden movement sent waves of pain throbbing through my head. The recent past was a complete blank. Spur of the moment, all I could come up with to account for it was that something had happened and I went on a serious bender. Which would be pretty pathetic after just swearing off drinking. Again.

When I did get my eyes open--probably only seconds had passed but it was such a monumental effort it seemed longer to me--what I saw was a blue blur. Surprise, surprise, it spoke.

"Madam, this treatment is necessary to assist your recovery. I can assure you breaking the weak hold you have on my appendage would be quite easily accomplished, however your willing release of said appendage would be best for all concerned parties."

Forcing my eyes to blink a couple times didn't help my vision any, though I became aware of more colors behind the sea of blue. Getting my vocal chords to work was even more of an effort. It took several tries. Luckily the guy with the big words and complicated sentences is patient. Just making my brain function well enough to put my own words together hurt like hell. What had the sonuvabitches done to me? "What... is... it?"

"I fear the name would have little meaning to you. It is unknown outside of specialized groups, such as we here at Xavier's School for the Gifted."

Trying to make sense of that little speech was just too much for me. I passed out. Don't remember doing that before with a hangover; while drinking maybe, but not afterwards when I was suffering for overindulging. Couldn't have been out too long, there was an urgency inside telling me to get up and get busy. Something or someone needed me but I couldn't grasp what or who it was.

Images, pictures, flashed through my pain fogged mind. Too many to see clearly or understand. Some of family and friends, people I knew or should know. Some I recognized and some I didn't. The same was true for places. Confusion ruled my world. Everything went round and round in circles. Hints, whispers, images, people, places, feelings, shadow, light. So much, too much to take in.

Then only the light. Slowly, it blocked out everything else. Started like a glare on the TV so you can't watch the show or when some jerk shines a flashlight on the screen in a movie theatre. The little spot of light grew until I couldn't see anything else. It was still there, but I couldn't see it anymore. I didn't know if I wanted to. Was it important? Was I dreaming, hallucinating, something else? Did I want to know? Could it be... did I... Oh, hell, I just didn't know!

Didn't have to open my eyes this time. Someone was holding my lids apart and shining directly into my eyeball what looked to be a giant flashlight, though it probably wasn't really that big. At that second, I thought and hoped I was seeing the Light again. It's never true, but I keep waiting for it to happen. When it's finally real it'll probably be anticlimatic. Not that I have a death wish.

The light finally disappeared and I was back to not being able to move, don't think I was all the way awake yet. I certainly wasn't willing to try to move. However, I could hear fine.

"I should have been immediately informed BOTH of my patients are classified as homo superior." That was the guy with the big complicated sentences. Who was he talking about? Was it related to my case? Yeah, I remember Sunshine now. How could I have forgotten?

"It ain't nobody's business but hers." Logan. No mistaking 'Mr. Congeniality'.

"Shut up, Wolvie." Was that Jubilee? I think so. "We didn't know she was a mutant."

"Now, darlin', that ain't exactly true. I had a good idea." Uh-huh, Logan usually knows more than he says. It's a very irritating habit of his. As his wife, she should know about it by now. "She ain't got a clue though. Said somethin' once 'bout havin' a grandma with the 'sight' who said she'd inherit it. Let's just say she did, an' leave it at that."

WHAT!?!? My heart tried to beat right out of my chest and my eyes did their best to spring open, ended up only being a flicker. They were talking about ME. _My _grandmother! Grandma Josephina had always claimed she had 'the sight'. She died when I was five, too young to know if there was any truth to it. Grandma Josie had also claimed I would have her 'gift' and I would fight it. From the earliest I can remember, it was a big family joke that I was going to be just like her. None of us but Mama believed she 'saw' anything, but my mother is superstitious to the extreme so that's understandable. The subject of Grandma Josie came up once right after a call from my mother while Logan and I were still sleeping together, so I knew he was talking about me. For it to be anyone else would be too big a coincidence. He was not only talking about me, but talking about me to strangers. I didn't kick him hard enough.

"Due to the longevity of your association in such matters, you are fully aware of the necessity to inform ME. A psionic attack of this magnitude, commonly called a psi-blast, must be treated most delicately. The repercussions to an untrained mutant with her own mental abilities could be catastrophic."

Psi-blast? What's a psi-blast? I should be part of this conversation. It was again an effort to drag my eyes open, but I did it. That was as far as I got and all I could see was the tiled ceiling.

"Ms. Hewett suffered the majority of the attack as she attempted to protect Ms. Sanchez. She will not regain consciousness for several days at minimum."

"But MaryJo's started learning how to protectively shield herself, Charles said she's gotten good at it." Jubilee again, protesting his statement. Guess MaryJo and 'Ms.Hewett' are the same person, huh? "Considering _that_, do you really think it will be that long? Sanchez wanted to interview her about Sunshine."

"Jubilation, the estimation I quoted is BECAUSE she shielded to the best of her ability. Without the recent addition to her curriculum--which I am fully aware of as it is in her file--she would not awaken at all. She is recovering." He paused and I could hear a computer boot up. "In point of fact, it is possible the incident will have beneficial results for both female patients. Psionic attacks on the untrained, or not fully trained, individual can either expand or contract mental pathways. Hence, victims generally have one of three recovery results: no perceptible change in mental abilities, a percentage to complete loss, or expansion of the same breadth. You may have been previously unaware of this due to in the past you have only witnessed experienced fully trained telepaths in similar circumstances. The current situation is entirely different." The lecturing tone turned stern. "Which is why the amount of serum administered is crucial. The differential in dosage between humans and mutants-"

"Alright already! Like, get over it, dude!" Sounded like Jubilee was as exasperated as I was. Though for me it was the long speech, which was hard enough for me to follow. It didn't help that my effort to push myself into a sitting position only made my hand twitch. "He messed up and I didn't know, so let's just move on."

"What she said, bub. We got us a serious problem an' need ya ta get Sanchez up an' runnin' as soon as ya can." It's great that Logan's keeping priorities straight. Makes me feel all warm inside. Not.

"I allowed you entrance to the med-lab as I believed seeing someone she knows would be a calming influence after her recent experience, but Ms. Sanchez's earlier activity perhaps caused me to be too optimistic. I had estimated she would have properly regained consciousness before now. Admittedly, my concern has been growing exponentially by the moment."

"Ya mean ya've been waitin' fer her ta wake up?" Logan demanded in his characteristically irritable manner. "Why didn't ya say so? She been listenin' ta our whole conversation!"

Apparently the guy moves quick when he needs to. A chair scraped across the floor and there were rapid heavy footsteps, then a blue furry face was in front of me. He was wearing glasses and a lab coat. Yeah, a guy with blue fur, glasses, and a lab coat! Something like "Gahn..." came out of my throat. I think I had a right to be a little startled.

"My most humble apologies for the delay!" He was nice enough to immediately help me sit up as he glared at Logan. "Recently my compatriot has taken to _not _telling me what I _need _to know."

* * *

It took about an hour for me to be 'up and running', though running wasn't something I really wanted to try by then either. I was informed my physical problems were caused by medicinal side effects. Too much of the cure because the blue doctor guy--"Dr. Henry P. McCoy, please feel free to call me Hank."--went too far the other way trying to compensate for originally not giving me enough. Which is why he had been so worried. He gave me another shot of something I couldn't pronounce if I wanted to and I slowly regained some use of my limbs. And voice.

I had lost over seven hours, six 'asleep'. Nothing I could do about it but cuss, which I did long and loud. From my point of view, it had gone from noon to mid-evening in the blink of an eye. Forget distractions, delays are my curse on this case. How the hell was I supposed to get anything done this way? My only bit of progress felt hard earned. Since it was going on eight o'clock, it was doubtful I could get any more today. The perp had won this round in more ways than one. No doubt in my mind MaryJo would have been able to help me and because of this attack she couldn't. He'd gotten another victim. At least she wouldn't die from it. Not like Sunshine.

It didn't take long for Sam to show up. Apparently he'd become 'greatly agitated' and 'antagonistic' after the 'incident', and was sent to some kind of special training room to work it off. The complete and utter relief on his face inspired feelings I will NOT allow myself to get immersed in. In fact, I'm going to just do my best to forget I saw it in the first place. Sam was a welcome substitute for Jubilee and Hank in helping me pace the room, that was the prescribed remedy to get my equilibrium back. It also gave me an excuse to cop a feel. Yeah, it wasn't the time but he did it too. Most likely had something to do with being happy I'm alive. For both of us.

Somewhere in there, Summers came around. Hank had thought it necessary to inform him of my new found mutant status. They were under the impression I might freak out about it. Someone else might have, and I just might later. This, like with other things, wasn't the time. We didn't have much time. Sunshine doesn't have much time. Am I the only one who understands that? I've lost another goddamn day! How many days do they think she has? My estimation of Summers went up a notch just because he took my words at face value and dropped the subject of my mutation.

So I sent him off to get me a list of staff and students capable of this psi-blast thingy and their backgrounds, everything possible to get on them. I know it's late, but I have to get what I can as I can. I had a new lead. During my ranting, I had gotten some information on the perp. Seems not all telepaths are capable of this kinda thing. Telepaths come in all different shapes and sizes, figuratively speaking. It takes a certain power level and knowledge of exactly how its done--instinctive knowledge counts--even then not just any telepath can do it. Some have specialized abilities and whatnot. Sam provided an example of an old teammate who could 'possess' someone, take over their body, but can't read their mind yet her abilities are still classified as telepathic.

All that boiled down to the very real possibility the perp might have tipped his hand. By going on the offensive, he's shown the bigshots and me that he is definitely on campus. His method has knocked a whole lot of people off the suspect list. And last but not least, that list is going to get changed to a very short one. I can handle all these recent little inconveniences for those kind of results. Guess my day wasn't wasted after all. It's unlikely I'd have made this much progress otherwise. Perps can be so fucking stupid.

to be continued.

* * *

note: So were you surprised at the way the direction has changed? I soooo wanted to surprise you! Unfortunately the cliffhanger at the end of chapter 8 didn't come across properly. If you haven't seen the change yet, you might want to check it out just to get the right feel. 

Okay, time for the usual apologies. I know I'm late with this chapter after I said I wouldn't be. I had some internet connectivity issues, then I found out about chapter 8 and felt the need to fix it before loading 9. Then I admittedly forgot for a few days, but during that time I got chapter 11 finished. Hopefully things are back on track. I have chapter 10 back from my wonderful beta Sara, chapter 11 to her, and I'm working on chapter 12. That should cover everything except the unexpected and I cannot be expected to take responsibility for that. Sorry.

Because I feel so guilty about the lateness of chapter 9, I'll be posting chapter 10 next week instead of waiting the usual two weeks.

Thanks for reading and the support,  
Dizi


	10. Chapter 10

disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever in any way owned the X-Men. If I did, I would be rich and have lots more time to write about them. This is a work of fiction based on the X-Men comic book owned by Marvel Comics Group and I expect to receive absolutely no monetary compensation for it. Dammit.

* * *

**Farewell Sunshine**  
by Dizi

Chapter 10

With strict instructions to leave the case alone until morning and to get both plenty of rest and exercise, we left the 'med-lab' en mass. The contradictory directions was proof enough to me that Hank is a real doctor. I wasn't completely normal physically but he'd warned me that would be the case until all the meds 'metabolized' out of my system. Now, do you really think I would drop the case? I don't generally follow doctor's orders too well. I was willing to not do anything too active on it. Really. But to just drop it for the night? I think NOT.

That wasn't taking into account my 'partners'. We all had the case, Sunshine, in common. It should have been natural for us to talk about it or her. Seriously, what could talking hurt? We didn't talk about the case though. They ganged up on me. Every time there was an opening and I started to bring up it up, one of them would change the subject. It was a conspiracy! No, I'm not being paranoid, they conspired right in front of me. Grrrrrr. They had to know I would think about it. We were still in the school, it was going to happen. It's the way I am. They weren't taking any chances, their exact words.

So I got a proper tour of the school. It was good exercise. The place is huge and should have signs telling people where they are like in malls. It was a quick tour though because my stomach started growling. Normally, I'd ignore it. I'm used to working through meals. There was no reason to this time and they didn't give me that option anyway. Can you say 'overprotective', boys and girls? I think you can! But what do I know? I've never been psi-blasted before. Go figure.

It's not surprising the cafeteria is a major hang out for students. We could hear the buzz of voices in the hall leading to it. Until we stepped into the room. It would be nice to think all conversation stopped because of the presence of teachers, but I'm not that delusional. Being a cop--having been a cop, that is, gotta get used to the life-change--it's not that unusual an occurrence to me. Nobody wants to talk around cops. Hmm, maybe that will change once it completely gets out that I'm no longer a cop? That'd be a nice change.

Young eyes watched us as we followed Logan across the room. He has this thing where he likes to sit with his back to the wall so he can see the whole room. Generally he doesn't make an issue of it but he likes to see trouble coming, can't really blame him for that. I almost laughed out loud when he gets to the table he wants, lets out a growl, and simply waits for it to empty. Logan's got a way about him, a style all his own. Thank God he's just a friend now, he's way too much work. But Logan's a good man to have at your back. After what happened this afternoon I like him being there. Times like this, a girl needs her friends.

Jubilee sighed. "And you wonder why most of 'em are scared of you."

"Don't wonder," he grunted. "I don't give a damn."

Sam was smart enough to stay out of it. "You just sit herah, Ma'am. Ah'll see what's left an' bring it to yah. Any preference on what yah want tah drink? Hank said no coffee."

"A beer would be nice." Alright, I knew he wasn't going give me one but it was worth a try. Can't have alcohol on top of major medication, that's a given. He just stood there waiting patiently. "Fine. Iced tea will work."

With a nod, he walked off. I stared at his ass the whole way. Nothing else to do. Logan and Jubilee are sniping at each other, probably their version of flirting. I sure don't want to get in the middle of that. So I watch Sam's ass until he disappears into what I assume is the actual kitchen. Then I don't have anything to do except watch all the teenagers pretend they're not watching me. Well, me along with Jubilee and Logan. Since I can't interview any of the kids and don't feel like going up to any of them and insulting them with my curiosity, I got nothing.

Except breaking doctor's orders. I just knew that opportunity would come along. Ignoring my 'partners' gives me the chance to think like I haven't since before I was supposed to interview MaryJo. Closing my eyes, I start to review what I know and what I can guess, stuff like that. From Antoine's statement, I know the perp is someone powerful in multiple ways. Not only a telepath but probably has family and money. He's most likely connected to one of the teachers in some manner, relation or a teacher's pet. He had a hard-on for Sunshine, probably is used to girls falling at his feet which made her rejection that much worse for him.

I'm going to need to talk to Bishop, the security guy, because the perp somehow got himself and Sunshine out of the school without any notice, then got back in leaving her behind. Now, whatever his mutant powers actually are, they are telepathically based. We know this from the attack. But how does that work with the electronic surveilance this place has? Telepathy is mind shit and cameras don't have a brain. Maybe he messed with Bishop's mind? Made him erase any recordings? That's assuming the type of telepath the perp is, which I now know there are many different kinds. Is there a way to check for that kind of thing? If someone's thoughts have been changed? That's a question to ask tomorrow, or have someone ask.

Need to know how far away the crime scene Logan found is, how long it takes to get there and back. Timing is another factor I can only guess at, still don't know if Sunshine even went to bed that night. She couldn't have been in the water too long or she'd have died of hypothermia either in the water or in the emergency room, it's fall and gets really cold at night. Hadn't considered that before. It means she was probably raped more towards dawn than midnight. Assuming that, Sunshine would have gone to bed or been snatched and stashed before she'd had a chance to, then taken out later. Risky but possible. The perp is definitely arrogant.

Okay, so he somehow got past the school's security measures--cameras and alarms--and got Sunshine outside to the crime scene. Why there? Logan's fond of the woods, everyone knows that. Did he somehow know Logan wouldn't be there? He made a comment at Harry's once about one of his favorite parts of marriage is waking up next to someone every morning, that was when he was teasing me about finding someone permanent like he had, bragged he's getting relief for that morning boner. Do I take that to mean he does his wandering in the woods during the darkest part of the night so he can start the morning up right with Jubilee? If so, how hard would it be for others to figure out his pattern? I'll have to ask tomorrow and maybe get some jibes in about him becoming domesticated.

Back to the scenario. He got her there. Did he intend to kill her or just tell himself he was going to take her someplace private so they could talk, so he could explain himself, change her mind about him? Did he plan to beat her up, break her, or did he get angry she wouldn't listen to him? She rejected him, Antoine told us that. Don't know if the assault came first or the rape. So lets go the other way. Did he rape her to punish her or again got angry when she wouldn't listen? Did she then cry and say how she would tell everyone what he'd done so he started whaling on her? He had to have intended that she die, his bad luck she didn't right away. Did he plan that or was it because he'd done the rest and was covering his tracks? Without more info I don't know what was premeditated and what wasn't.

I do know the results. Sunshine was beaten within an inch of her life, brutally raped, then dumped in the river. I can picture her body covered in blood, lying on the side of the river. A girl tossed away like garbage. Was she aware going in? Did she fight the water or welcome it? Did the perp smash her head in or did that happen as she was tossed around by the currents? I hate that I can picture it both ways, not knowing which it was. I can imagine her unconscious body drifting as well as trying desperately to get to shore. It-

"Sanchez! Snap out of it!"

"What?" My eyes were instantly open at Jubilee's near shout. "What's wrong?"

Concentrating on the case, I'd been completely lost in thought. So I missed a new addition to our table. A girl, young, about five-eight, black hair, white skin--not Caucasian, actually white. She was standing on the other side of Jubilee where Logan... HAD been sitting, and she was the one who answered me. "Officer... ma'am... I'm sorry... you were projecting and Mao is in a bad way."

She made a nervous gesture and I followed it to see Logan holding down another girl's arms two tables away.

"She's empathic, the emotions of other's affect her. Usually Mao can control it, but emotions are high right now. On top of that, everyone has natural shielding of some degree and your's are practically non-existent after the attack. Everything you were feeling with your deep thoughts and everyone else's nerves, fear, and whatever... Well, it was too much for her."

'Everything you were feeling', Jubilee had said. Fuck! I was feeling lots of shit. Mostly anger at the perp, that's always there for me. There'd also been horror a what had been done to Sunshine, more anger. Now I've also got a horror of what I've done to this girl, unintentionally or not.

"Don't feel bad, Sanchez." Jubilee either guessed at my guilt or it showed. "It's not your fault. Not like you did it on purpose."

"But it's still my responsibility." Whether you meant to or not, when you do something wrong or that hurts someone, you've got to make it right. That's one lesson from my childhood I've carried with me, a good philosophy in my line of work. This girl taps into the emotions of others and mine had messed her up big time. I've got to find a way to fix it.

Whenever my thoughts and feelings start going the wrong way, I reach deep and pull out my 'mission statements'. I set in my mind that I'll do the job: I will catch the bastard, he will be punished for his crimes, when I'm done our little part of the world will be a better place. Making myself think it over and over again like a mantra, helps me. Like it's doing now. Because it's true. However long it takes, I will make it happen.

Steady, calm, determined, reassured, I hold those feelings tight. They are what I need to make things right. I bet they're what she needs too.

Focussed, I stood. All eyes were on me, I didn't care. Jubilee started to say something and stopped, I didn't pay attention. I walked to the opposite side of the table from the girl, faced her. "You feel the emotions of other people?"

Her eyes were wild in her head, swimming with too many feelings to recognize. "Y-yes, b-but I'm b-blocking..."

"Okay. Can you lock onto one person?" I had an idea, probably not a good one but an idea. Can't let myself think about what might happen if it doesn't work. Isn't negativity an emotion? I'm thinking positive. To paraphrase the Church, MY will be done.

"N-not supposed to..."

"Sanchez, she been taught it's an invasion ta do that kinda thing," Logan snarled at me. "Get back an' wait fer the calvalry ta arrive."

Yeah, I'm gonna do that. You just know it. "Mao, it's okay. You need calm, right? Well, I'm as calm as it gets right now." And I am. Because I have a purpose. If I'm 'projecting', then that's what's coming from me. "Feel it, Mao, take it inside you."

There was a commotion going on, Logan bitching, Jubilee behind me; I ignored it all, held to my center. It didn't happen right away, she didn't instantly let go. After a couple minutes though, she didn't have as many expressions twisting her face, her eyes became less wild, her hand slowly stopped shaking as it came to lay in front of me. Putting my hand on top of hers, I hoped touch would make it easier.

Honestly, I was surpised I didn't feel like something was being taken from me. Mao was a mix of genetics. Red hair--which could be dyed--slanted almond-shaped eyes, green in color, skin that was lighter than mine but also didn't quite look Asian. She was what I'd call heavy-set, not really over-weight but not skinny either. It was easier to absorb her physical characteristics when she wasn't shaking and freaking out on me. Mao wasn't really all that pretty but I'd call her striking.

About then is when I realized Sam had returned with a tray full of food and a jug of tea, ever my wonderful job perk. I pulled the tray close without letting go of Mao's hand, asking her, "You want some of this? I don't think I can eat it all."

"I've already eaten, thank you." She spoke softly, like she'd found a new inner peace. Sitting up straight, as though she'd recovered a profound dignity. "You are kind and should not fear showing it. Many do not like to be near such as me. I will not forget."

"Alright." That was a little deep. I took it as the thanks that it was, letting go of her hand to better take a drink of tea. Miss the coffee; coffee is our friend.

Then to my surprise, I found the table surrounded by teenagers. They were no longer too afraid to approach me. Lord help me. No good deed goes unpunished. I think they now understood that I was on their side. More now than before, but I wasn't going to mention that. For the next hour kids swarmed in and out of the cafeteria to gawk at me. They didn't even seem to care that I wasn't being very friendly. It could have been the company I was keeping, Logan had a scowl that wouldn't quit. I had no idea how to interact with most of them.

Turned out tentacle-boy from the hallway that morning is named Richard, we didn't talk much and I didn't indulge in curiosity. He was one of the few that actually got up the courage to mention Sunshine. They had French class together but that was the extent of their association. I might have asked some of them more questions in that direction but Jubilee firmly stated the case couldn't be discussed. In my opinion, they accepted that too easily. Or it could be that I did.

The black and white girl turned out to be Mao's roommate. She's very outgoing and was grateful for my help. Called 'Ink' because her mutant powers are to absorb and expell actual ink such as for tatoos. Apparently, she's going to open a tatoo parlor when she graduates next year. It'll be a unique business opportunity for her since she can remove unwanted tatoos without the expense of laser surgery. Ink gave an impromptu demonstration of her powers by quickly putting a stylized Chinese symbol of luck on my left wrist.

I thought it was appropriate: luck is always a factor in a case. I'll take all the help I can get.

to be continued.

* * *

note: This chapter seems to be a bit different--and it is--but it does still apply to the overall plot/story. Next chapter will explain how more fully. Personally, I feel this one didn't have to make it into the story, she could have just "talked" about it. However, I've cut out lots of scenes like this that weren't totally relevant and since this one came to me so clearly I decided this was the one to make it in. I had this vision of poor Sanchez, loner cop extrordinaire, suddenly being decended upon by a large number of mutant teenagers, not being allowed to interview them, and not having a clue how to talk to them otherwise. And there ya go.

As to progress... well, I'm working on chapter 12. It's going a little slow even though I know pretty well what should be in it. Chapter 11 was revised four times and is now completed, but to give me enough time to finish 12 (and hopefully 13 too) I'm not going to post chapter 11 for two weeks.

Thanks for reading and the support!  
Dizi


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